


The Baby Dilemma

by albe_chan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-04-24 19:32:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 115,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14362128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/albe_chan/pseuds/albe_chan
Summary: Lily Potter has wanted a baby forever and is determined to have one. But having one with Scorpius Malfoy is NOT part of the plan. In fact, nothing about having a baby for Lily really goes according to plan, including the tendencies of her foolish heart. Can they all live happily ever after? And does she really want to? MATURE. LilyScorpius. NextGen. Non-Magic AU. *CROSS-POSTED FROM FF.NET*





	1. Hello, Goodbye

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

 **DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter One - Hello, Goodbye

Tuesday April fourth, just three short weeks after her thirtieth birthday would forever be a day Lily Potter remembered. It would be a day she'd look back upon with equal amounts of amusement and remembered fear, and a day that would change the redheaded, hazel eyed woman's life forever.

Because Tuesday, the fourth of April, precisely three weeks after her thirtieth birthday, was the day she'd realized, feeling sick, she'd missed her never once late before period by a solid two weeks. And after buying a home pregnancy test and peeing on the stick as the directions instructed, she'd found out on that balmy April morning, she was going to be a mother. Or already was, according to the test and the two blue lines. And even though Lily had been dreaming about seeing those two blue lines on a pregnancy test someday for the last five years, and had been borderline obsessing over them for the last eighteen months or so, she couldn't help but feel a flutter of dismay.

Lily gulped and picked up her cell phone, unable to stop staring at the pregnancy test, and dialed her best friend and cousin, Rose Weasley, on autopilot. "Weasley," her blue eyed, auburn haired cousin answered airily, sounding impatient.

"Rose," she said through numb lips, still staring at the stupid pink stick.

"Lily?" her cousin said, sounding concerned. "What's wrong?"

The redhead couldn't find words for a moment. "Hold on," she breathed. "I'm sending you a picture, call me when you get it," Lily said, still on the toilet with her knickers down, feeling a horrible mixture of elation and fear and guilt and anger as she took a picture of her pregnancy test. She texted the picture to Rose and waited. Her cousin phoned back in seconds.

"Please tell me that's for you," Rose said breathlessly. The auburn haired woman had been there through Lily's entire baby fever, from the initial longing phase to actually shopping through a sperm donor book with the redhead when she'd failed to meet any good candidates on her own.

"Uh huh," Lily confirmed, still staring at the stick that screamed impending parenthood at her. Rose made a shrill sound of excitement, but Lily grimaced. "There's only one problem," she said throatily.

Rose paused. "What?" she demanded. "What could possibly be wrong with any of this? You've wanted a baby for _ever_ , honey, and you're so ready for motherhood, and you're going to be amazing at it, and probably have the cutest baby on the face of the planet. And said baby will have the coolest, most kick ass godmother there is! What the hell is the problem with this?"

Lily licked her lips, blushing, and finally stood up off the loo, pulling her pyjama pants and knickers up. "Um," she said, unsure how to phrase the uncomfortable truth. "Well, you see… It's just…"

"Spit it out, Lily!" Rose said impatiently.

"It's Malfoy's."

There was a long silence. "What?" Rose whispered.

"Yeah," Lily confirmed, feeling close to tears or laughter, or possibly both. "It's Malfoy's. Or rather he's the father." She put a hand to her belly as she said it, feeling her stomach drop unpleasantly.

"How do you know?" Rose demanded. Lily blushed.

"There hasn't been anyone else," she said miserably. "I haven't gone to the clinic yet." She hadn't, in fact, even gotten round to booking the appointment to visit the fertility clinic to get shot up with her chosen donor's sperm.

"But wait, when did-?" Rose began, then broke off. Lily sighed and another silence passed between them. "Oh God, your birthday," Rose whispered.

"Bingo," Lily mumbled. She'd gone out with Rose, gotten very drunk, and bumped into the very handsome Scorpius Malfoy, her older brother's best friend, and somehow wound up taking him home with her. And once they'd gotten back to her place, they'd partaken in hot, vigorous, drunk sex that had been intensely gratifying and utterly satisfying.

"He didn't wrap it?" Rose demanded. "And you never even told me you hooked up! You just said he brought you home, and kind of forgot to mention you invited him in for sex!"

"Because it didn't matter, it was a drunk one night stand." Lily scowled. "And he did wrap it, but it must've broke," she murmured. Thinking back through fuzzy memories, she definitely recalled him putting the condom on before the best orgasm she'd ever had. Lily presumed it was sometime during the second round, because her memory got especially fuzzy there. Or perhaps when he'd woken her and they'd had a good shag sometime just before dawn. Because she couldn't imagine when he'd have been able to between when she sucked him off in the pearly half-light of impending morning and when he rolled her over for round three what seemed like moments later. "Or maybe he didn't," she mumbled, and sighed. "Either way, the proverbial bun is already in the oven no matter how it happened."

"Are you going to tell him?" Rose asked after a long moment.

Lily gulped, because that was the million dollar question. "Not today," she said at last. "I have to go to the doctor's, get everything squared away and figured out first, and think about it."

"Do you want me to come with?" her cousin offered, and Lily was tempted to give in and say yes, but shook her head, even if Rose couldn't see it.

"I'll be fine alone," she said. After all, she'd planned to have a baby alone, because she was tired of waiting for Mr. Right to appear in her life, so she could start doing shit for herself. She didn't need Rose to hold her hand.

"Call me when you're free, and we'll have tea," Rose insisted, and Lily agreed, then rang off with her, calling up her doctor to book an appointment, relieved she could get in that morning. She debated, on the bus ride both there and back, whether or not to call Scorpius, but she didn't know what she'd say to him, and she wasn't ready to tell him he'd gotten her knocked up. But he really did deserve to know, and she couldn't keep it from him forever. And at the very least, if he wanted nothing at all to do with her or a baby ever again, she could say thanks, because he'd saved her a pricey procedure. In the end, she texted him, or the number he'd left her those three weeks ago, when he'd pushed off the next morning, saying they should get together for drinks sometime. At the time, hung over and embarrassed, she'd never dreamed of calling him, and figured it was either a fake number, or he was just being nice, because he'd looked amazing even the next morning, and she'd looked pretty much like shit. She doubted, even now, he'd ever wanted to actually get together with her again in a naked kind of way. Her message was short and simple.  _Hey, it's Lily. Do you still want to get together?_

By the time she got lunch and got home to put in a few hours of work, it was almost tea time, and Lily met up with her cousin Rose to talk everything through at their favourite cafe downtown where they'd met up almost religiously every week for a decade to have tea and gossip and share their lives. "Hey," she said, sliding into their usual booth, her regular tea before her.

"Hi," Rose said, biting her lip and staring intently at Lily. "Please tell me I'm allowed to tell people," she breathed at last. "It's eating me up inside already." The redhead grimaced, pushing her unruly mane of long, vibrant red hair over her shoulders.

"Not yet," she begged. "I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it," she admitted, feeling a little overwhelmed. She'd wanted it for so long, been working toward it diligently for the last year and a half, but now that she was actually pregnant, Lily felt jumbled and unsure. She blamed it on the circumstances.

Rose grasped her hand. "Take all the time you need, honey," she said loyally. Lily smiled. "So? Spill, because you look like you're going to burst."

Lily licked her lips. "I dunno, that's the thing. I'm kind of still in shock I guess."

"You're happy, though, yeah?" her cousin asked shrewdly.

"Of course," Lily said honestly, sitting back and sipping her tea. "I want this," she said with passion. "I just… I didn't think it would happen like this." She smiled a little, but it didn't reach her hazel eyes. "I expected it to be a lot less...surprising, I guess."

Rose nodded. "Did you call him?"

"No," she admitted. "I chickened out and texted him."

Blue eyes went huge. "You can't tell him that through texting!" her cousin hissed, and Lily laughed.

"Oh God, obviously, Rose," she laughed. "I just asked if he wanted to get together. So I can tell him in person." Her mouth pursed as a sudden, terrifying thought occurred to her. "If he wants to, of course," she added. "For all I know, it was a one time deal and he's not remotely interested in seeing me again." She shrugged, sighing, and Rose rolled her eyes. "Seriously, we were both pretty drunk."

Rose fingered the handle of her mug of coffee. "Have you thought about if he wants to, y'know, be involved?" Rose asked.

Lily gulped. She hadn't been able to contemplate that possibility, because that begged too many questions she had no answers to, the most pressing of which was how did you co-parent with someone you barely knew? "Not really," she mumbled. From the point she'd decided she wanted a baby, husband or not, and she'd have one, Lily had assumed she'd be a single parent, and all her energy had become focused on that end. Another parent figure had never been part of her plans. And a selfish part of her wanted to hoard the tiny life within her all to herself, rejecting that other half of the equation that had created it entirely.

"Do you want that?" Rose asked softly.

"No," Lily said automatically. Auburn brows lifted. "I mean, I didn't. I haven't thought about it," she said quickly, "but this is still  _my_  baby." Rose's mouth turned down a little, but then the waitress came, bearing their food, and Lily didn't see her frown, which was carefully modulated.

"You're still going to tell him, though, yeah?" Rose said after the waitress left them, and they dug in. "If he wants to see you?"

"Of course," Lily said.

To her surprise, Lily got a text just after getting back to her flat from tea with Rose, from the number Malfoy had given her.  _Little Lily, I was wondering if you even remembered me. My feelings were almost hurt, because you_ did  _tell me at the time I'd made your birthday 'the fucking best ever'._ She blushed profusely at that, because she unfortunately did recall saying it, in the panting, delirious afterglow of sex with Scorpius Malfoy.  _I'm free tonight, if you are. Say eight o'clock, at Tavern Rouge?_

She bit her lip, because that was a very popular, swanky bar, but shrugged, and replied with a yes.  _Sure. I'll meet you there._  And, because she felt like it would be rude if she didn't at least mention them sleeping together, added,  _And to date, as far as birthdays are concerned, probably still the fucking best ever._  She pressed the send button and tried not to smirk at the thought of somehow scoring a date with almost no effort. Then told herself firmly it wasn't a date, even as she went to go shave her legs, just in case.

That night, at seven fifty seven, Lily pushed through the front doors to Tavern Rouge, taking a deep breath and telling herself she was only nervous because of what she had to do, not because she was meeting Scorpius Malfoy. She went to the bar and ordered a lemon water, and just as it arrived on a napkin, a familiar voice drawled from behind her, "Trying to avoid a repeat of last time, Lily?"

She pasted on a smile, even as her anxiety peaked, and turned to face the tall blond, who looked as devastatingly handsome as ever, and utterly out of her league in his dark grey Armani suit and Italian leather shoes. "Sure," she said easily, and took a fortifying sip. "Um, thanks for meeting me," she said, and could've face palmed when he smirked.

"My pleasure," he said easily, and ordered a whiskey. "How have you been?"

She almost burst out laughing, because in the last twelve hours, she'd been just about every emotion she could imagine. "Pretty good," she said instead. "And you?"

"The same as ever," he said. She licked her lips, feeling nervous. "Do you want to sit down?" he asked politely after his drink arrived, and she nodded, feeling unbearably nervous and a tiny bit nauseous. "I get the feeling you texted me for more than just a friendly drink and chance to catch up," he said after they'd gotten a little table for two.

Lily drank her water. "Kind of," she admitted, and sighed.

He grinned, and leaned in, and Lily caught a whiff of his tempting cologne as he traced her jawline, from just below her ear to her chin, with a finger. Her breathing hitched, even as desire flooded her, and the redhead couldn't resist looking at his sensual mouth, recalling, vividly, what it had felt like all over her. "I hope the real reason is because you actually are looking for a repeat of last time, if only minus the drinking."

She felt her nipples go hard and gulped, heart pounding and feeling a little dizzy. It hadn't been, at all, but… "It is now," she said without thinking. He chuckled huskily.

"Fantastic," he rumbled, and then kissed her gently.

Lily tried to make sure she was still breathing, but every fibre of her being was concentrated on her lips, and searing every perfect, sober second of Scorpius Malfoy's tongue tracing along the inside of them into her memory. And when she parted her lips for him, his tongue pushing into her mouth and stroking the roof of it erotically, she completely forgot why she'd originally come to meet him. Because now, the only important thing in her mind, was getting somewhere private and getting naked with him.

He broke away and she was breathing unevenly, mouth parted, eyes wide. "My place this time, or yours?" he murmured.

Lily licked her lips. "Yours," she whispered, and got up from the table with him, even as he left his drink completely untouched on the polished wood, and focused her entire being on the warm hand he grasped one of hers with. When they got to his car, her common sense, having been blown back into her by the chilly breeze, started clamouring at her to tell him the truth. She hadn't texted him for a booty call, but because she had to tell him something important, and here he was, being a sexy sex-god, distracting her!  _Damn him, and his bloody brilliant mouth, and good looks, and his fucking delicious body!_  "Um," she said as he beeped a sexy, dark blue sportscar unlocked, then opened the passenger door for her.

She paused and hesitated, not climbing into the low slung car. "It's almost disconcerting how very different you are under the influence, Lily," he murmured, and she bit her lower lip as he moved into her personal bubble. "Do you really want to do this?" he asked very softly.

The redhead knew the answer to that, because it was a resounding  _hell yes_ , she wanted really fucking bad, but Lily didn't know if that was a good idea. And she really had come to tell him serious news. "I…" Words failed her. So Lily sucked in a deep breath, and turned to tell him, no, and then that she was pregnant, and it was by him. Instead, when she looked up at his handsome, slightly smiling face, blond hair falling with careless elegance over his forehead and grey eyes questioning, Lily felt, just as she had on her birthday, a thrum of deep, primal attraction. So instead of telling him what the doctor had all but confirmed that morning, she pressed herself lightly against him, lifted onto her toes as her head tilted up, and kissed him. "Does that answer your question?" she purred, pulling back. Scorpius merely moved with her, pinning her lightly against his car with his pelvis.

"Not quite," he rumbled.

Lily smirked. "Let me try again," she said, and pulled him down roughly to kiss, drunk with lust again, only sober enough to appreciate every nuance of the tall blond touching her, snogging her furiously, and the hot ache of desire he wrought in her.

He grunted and broke away. "That I'm going to take as a yes," he said in a rough voice. "And unless you want me to strip you right here, I'm going to advise getting in the goddamn car, Lily." He smirked as her brows lifted at the commanding tone that automatically rubbed her the wrong way and flattened her arousal. "Please," he added as an afterthought.

She was tempted to tell him to sod off and forget it, because he was a pushy jerk, but then his mouth ghosted up her neck, and Lily's breath huffed out, arousal cranking right back up, when he bit her earlobe teasingly. "You're lucky you're handsome, 'cause you're a right prick sometimes, Malfoy," she said, raggedly, but when he pulled back, grinning and looking painfully attractive, she slid into the car.

Once they got to his underground parking, Lily was second, or rather third, guessing herself. She really,  _really_  shouldn't walk sedately from his car to an elevator, or exchange shifty smiles with him as they ascended in an only slightly awkward silence, and Lily knew for certain she should stop herself as he unlocked his door and waved her in. But just as she opened her mouth to tell him the truth, why she'd texted him, and met up with him, and the irreversible news, he'd turned her, pressed her up against the door to his condominium, and was kissing her again. Only this time he was insistent and greedy, urging her to submit to him, and Lily couldn't think to resist. And when his hands pushed into her hair, it felt too natural to grip his shoulders and pull him closer with her legs.

She moaned into the kiss, and then out loud as his mouth slanted down, over her jaw, and he nibbled erotically at the sensitive flesh of her neck. "Scorpius," she groaned, and he grunted, nipping her, and dragged his hands down to heft her up more securely. Lily gasped and clutched him as he turned away from the door, but he carried her easily to his bedroom, laying her out in a massive bed.

Lily could only stare at him as he undressed for her perusal, and she licked her lips, breathing shallow in anticipation as he slowly revealed himself. "You're not getting naked," he murmured, and Lily blinked, tearing her eyes away from the mouth watering lines of his hips and pelvis.

"What?" she breathed, and he chuckled, undoing his belt.

"Last time you were in your birthday suit faster than it took me to unbutton my shirt," he teased, and she blushed, sitting up on her elbows, glaring at him as he kneeled between her calves.

"Last time you weren't being such a douche," she snapped. He laughed, and her gaze dropped down as he unbuttoned his trousers. She gasped, surprised, as he laid her back with a searing kiss, then pulled away.

"I don't think you mind either way, Potter," he rumbled, and kissed her again, before she could retort. "And I certainly do not." He shifted and she moaned, heart thundering loud in her ears, as his hand stroked up her thigh, under her little dress, and paused possessively on her hip. "It leaves me the delightful task of doing it myself," he murmured, and shifted lower, even as his hand moved inward, thumb brushing her damp panties while his mouth kissed along the neckline of her frock.

And by the time he had, finally, accomplished said task, Lily was embarrassingly close to coming, and couldn't even think to hold back her guttural moans and hoarse cries of pleasure as Scorpius licked up the inside of one thigh. "Please," she groaned desperately, pride gone. He merely licked up the other thigh now. " _Please_ , Scorpius," she moaned, wriggling.

He grunted and she cried out in anticipation as he bent his head, then his eyes flicked up to hers. "Just one more, darling," he growled, and she wanted to scream in agony.

"Jesus fucking Christ, you fucking bastard,  _please_!" she shouted, and did scream a little as he obliged her, tonguing her to a swift, hard release, and then through to a second, less intense orgasm. "Yes," she chanted, "yes, yes,  _yes_!"

She slowly became aware she was tugging rather hard on his hair and gentled her grip, but then Scorpius was moving back over her, and she watched him fitting a condom onto his very impressive erection. Lily bit her lip to stay the insane urge to laugh, because it was a bit like locking the barn after the horse had been stolen, she reckoned. But she didn't comment, and when he pushed into her, groaning raggedly against her ear and holding her perfectly tight, thinking became impossible.

Much later, when she'd been thoroughly satisfied, Lily tried to resist the urge to fall asleep on Malfoy's shoulder, and tried to tell herself sleeping over was so not an option. "Lily?" he murmured after a long moment of comfortable silence.

"Mmm?" she hummed, starting to nod off, and sat up, looking down at the very handsome, sleepy looking blond.

"I was afraid you fell asleep," he murmured, absently teasing a strand of her hair around his finger.

"Me too," she teased, and stifled a yawn, looking around for a clock. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight," he murmured. Her brows shot up. Had they really been here, shagging, all that time?  _Damn_ …

"I should go," she said, and felt a shiver of embarrassment and mingled humiliation, because she was pretty sure she'd just had another one night stand with her brother's best friend, and it was probably never going to amount to more than that.

"Probably," he sighed, and Lily's mouth dropped open. She glared at the bastard over her shoulder and he chuckled. "That came out wrong," he murmured. Lily didn't care. It was rude, and she was leaving. She made a noise of disdain in her throat, then got up, stepping hurriedly into her panties. "I meant it would undoubtedly be awkward if you stayed." Her brows shot up in silent awe of how incredibly stupid he was.

"You should probably stop talking," she said, voice arctic, and he sighed again.

"Sorry, but you're very distracting, standing there in your sexy little knickers, all outraged and offended. What I'm trying to say, is I don't  _want_  you to go, but as your brother is due to arrive in a half hour to drive me to the airport, it would probably be more than awkward if you were still here."

Lily's brow furrowed. "Why is Al driving you to the airport?" she asked, brain chugging along slowly, trying to understand what he was talking about.

"I'm going away on business, and I don't want to leave my car in long term parking." Lily could understand that. It was a nice car. What if someone stole it or something? "But I really want you to stay because that was even better than your birthday, for me anyway, and now I'm probably going to miss you while I'm away."

Lily blushed, sliding into her dress again. "For me too," she murmured, because it had been. Loads better. All crisp and clear and branded into memory, ready to call up should she ever need it in the black of night, alone in her bed. She licked her lips, suddenly remembering why she'd agreed to meet him in the first place that evening. "Um," she said softly, but when she peeked at him, still naked in bed, her courage deserted her. "Where are you going?" she asked softly. Surely it would be easier to broach the subject once she herself had come to terms with it, right? After some time to get herself together, she'd undoubtedly find it way easier to inform Malfoy he was the sperm donor to her bundle. She could totally just tell him whenever he got back, because she'd have enough time to figure out what to say.

"The States," he said, looking decidedly bored by the notion. She knew he was frequently out of the country, at least from the tidbits Albus dropped every now and then at Sunday dinner over the years, and automatically, Lily wondered what sort of impact that might have on her baby. She didn't like the thought of a part time parent, should he want to participate in her baby's life. Then she chastised herself for thinking he'd want her and a screaming, pooping bundle of spit up. She might want that more than anything, but she was pretty positive he didn't.

"For how long?" she asked conversationally.

"Four months," Scorpius replied in the same bored, impeccably polite tone. Lily's brows shot up.

"Wow, that's a long time," she said, surprised.

Scorpius shrugged, then frowned. "Why are we talking about me leaving?" he asked.

Lily shrugged also, but smiled a tiny bit. Because it had just occurred to her, that Scorpius had unintentionally just made it so she could have her cake and eat it too. Or rather, have her baby and avoid messy entanglements and awkward conversations. No one even knew she was expecting yet, save Rose and her doctor. Lily could just play it off like she'd gotten knocked up after Scorpius went away. Albus would never know they'd slept together, Scorpius would never know he'd donated his genetics to make her goal in life achievable, and Lily would be utterly free to grow and raise her baby as she herself saw fit, like she'd been planning from the start. "Dunno," she said brightly, and picked up her handbag from the floor where it had been tossed aside, pulling out her cell. "Have a good trip," she said, and made to walk out.

Scorpius smirked. "You're forgetting something," he said, and Lily looked over her shoulder at him, hair rumpled, makeup a mess, and looking utterly debauched and, to Scorpius, deliciously enticing still. He held out her shoes, the strappy black stilettos hooked over two fingers, and he grinned as she blushed.

"Thank you," she said primly, and reached for them.

He surrendered the shoes, but grasped her wrist lightly, pulling her down to kiss her plump, pink mouth again. "Don't wait three weeks to text me again," he said, and her expression softened, eyes darting away guiltily for a moment.

"I wasn't waiting," she murmured, "I was…"

"Busy?" he supplied. She shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess," she said. "Let me know when you get back," she said, and, gulping, slipped her shoes on and hurried out of his condo, calling a cab when she got to the lobby. And as she stared up at grimy storefronts and building and apartments as she rode home in the back of a cab, Lily sighed, feeling a heavy weight on her heart. She put a hand to her belly, sending out good, positive vibes for her fetus, and pushed thoughts of Scorpius Malfoy, and how he'd looked, for that brief moment, so utterly human, and hesitant, and brimful of emotion as she'd never  _ever_  seen him before. Because that expression in his eyes had almost crumbled her decision to purposely keep Scorpius, and everyone else, in the dark as to her baby's father's identity. Except, obviously, Rose, but she knew her cousin wouldn't ever rat her out.  _It's just you and me, Baby. I got you and you always got me, and we don't need anything else_.

XXX


	2. The Announcement

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Two - The Announcement

Lily decided she would tell her family at Sunday dinner, and spent the rest of her week working and finally basking in the unmitigated bliss, once she'd gotten the official call back from her doctor confirming it, that she was indeed, pregnant, although it was still very early on. She'd met up with Rose again, confessing that she had wholly and completely chickened out and not been able to tell Malfoy, and even the fact that he was going away, but she pointedly didn't mention her plan to effectively not tell anyone he was the father of her baby. But, of course, Rose being her best friend and cousin, knew something was up at once.

"So what did you do, then?" she demanded.

Lily looked away, sipping her tea. "What d'you mean?"

Blue eyes rolled. "What did you and Malfoy talk about, then?"

"Nothing," she said truthfully. "Well, I mean, nothing important." She blushed, and Rose's eyes went huge.

"Lily Luna Potter!" she hissed, and the redhead pulled a face.

"Ugh, you sound like my mum, stop."

"You slept with him again, didn't you?" Rose whispered, and Lily blushed some more, drinking her tea. "Of course you did, though, I mean, who wouldn't," Rose said after a beat and Lily grinned. "Huh."

"And if you're going to ask, no you can't have details, but yes, it was  _amazing_ ," Lily said firmly, and picked up one of the jam tarts from the sweets tray they'd ordered.

"Boo, you suck, Potter."

Lily shrugged. "Watch out, Weasley, I've got five other female cousins who could be godmother," she shot back. Rose pouted.

"Bitch."

By the time Sunday rolled around, Lily was positive she  _had_  to be glowing, because she'd never been happier, or more excited about life and her future, and she was still avoiding the morning sickness phase of pregnancy. And despite being inherently nervous, Lily was in a decidedly good mood when she arrived at her parents' house for Sunday dinner. She moved, through years of habit and with a hungry belly, toward the kitchen, hugging her mother, who stood at the stove.

Her father, as always, was already sitting at the long table, reading the paper, frowning at some headline or another. "Hi, Mum," Lily said brightly, "hi, Dad."

"Hello, honey," her mother said, mashing potatoes with vigor. Lily automatically reached for oven mitts. "Five more minutes, Lily," her mother said and the redhead sighed, rolled her eyes, but waited to take the big roasted chicken from the oven.

"Hi, sweetie," her father said, then scoffed. "If those twats pass that bill, we might as well just bend over and let the Yanks f-"

"Harry, language," Ginny said sharply, and Harry Potter rolled vibrant green eyes. Lily laughed.

"What bill?" she asked, going to sit with her father, even though she didn't much care. "What are the Yanks trying to fuck us- oops, I mean screw us," she said at a sharp look from her mother, "for now?"

"They've got some wacko over there who's trying to rewrite the entire trade agreement that's been in place thus far, at least since the forties, to benefit them. It's a bloody mess if you ask me."

"Good thing you're not a politician," Ginny said pointedly. Lily rolled her eyes, and then James and his wife Priscilla, and their four year old, Liam, and eighteen month old, Viola, arrived in a very loud ruckus. Lily hugged her nephew, kissed his cheek even as he squirmed away, and snuggled a wriggling Viola for almost twenty consecutive seconds before she slithered down and toddled after her big brother, who scampered to the toy bin in the lounge.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged, and as the chicken was pulled out of the oven, commencing the ten minute countdown to eating, Lily wondered where Albus could be. Sunday dinner was a prerequisite in the Potter household, always had been, and the only acceptable excuses were mandatory attendances elsewhere, deaths, or marriages. "So what's new, then?" Priscilla asked Lily.

"Not much. Working mostly," the redhead said vaguely, and took a deep breath. She wanted to wait to tell everyone together, but the urge to just burst and shout it from the rooftop was damn near unbearable.

"You need to get a life, little sister," James said kindly, opening the fridge and helping himself to a beer, pulling a few more out.

"Not my good beer, if you please," Harry said, but James merely smirked and cracked his open.

"Put the good beer in the garage fridge, Dad," James shot back, and handed one to his father.

"You'd take it anyway," Harry grumbled.

"What can I say? You raised me to have good taste," James replied, and handed another to Lily.

"Oh, no, thanks," she said, and everyone looked at her. "What?" she asked in a weak attempt to sound offhand.

"Whoa, no need to stop talking the second I walk in," Albus said from the doorway to the kitchen, and Lily gulped, looking around.

"Why aren't you drinking beer?" James asked suspiciously.

Ginny gasped, the whisk that had been stirring gravy falling from her hand with a clunk. "Honey," she said, turning around, and Lily bit her lip.

She glanced at Albus, who looked as if she'd just slapped him. Shocked and kind of pissed. Then at her father, who just looked shocked.

"Holy crap," Priscilla whispered.

Lily licked her lips and smiled, feeling a little thrown, because this wasn't going at all how she'd planned it, but took a deep breath. "Um, so I'm sure you've all gotten there by now, but yeah. I'm pregnant."

There was a beat of silence after the announcement, and then several people were talking at once. Her mother was pulling her into a hug, crying her congratulations, Priscilla was asking her a million and one questions very rapidly, James was asking, predictably, when the bloody hell it had happened, and her father said, sounding a little shocked still, "But I thought you weren't seeing anyone?"

Before Lily could reply to that, Albus said, a little darkly, "Yeah, Lils, who put the bun in your oven?"

"Who cares?" Priscilla snapped as Ginny pursed her mouth, and Lily cleared her throat.

"None of your business, Albus," she said firmly. "And nor will it ever be. And if you can't get over that, you don't have to share this experience with me." Priscilla beamed, because she'd been behind Lily from first hearing the redhead's plan to have a baby on her own. Her mother, who hadn't precisely approved of Lily being a single mom, but adored the idea of more grandchildren, shot her middle child a pleading look.

Albus sighed. "Congrats, Lils," he said softly, and Lily nodded.

"Thank you."

"Dibs on godfather," James said without preamble, accepting the news with his normal good humour. Hazel eyes rolled.

The redhead chanced a look at her father, who looked equally grumpy and pleased. Her father had maintained all along, from the first time she'd told her family she was planning, and saving, to have a baby on her own, Lily would 'meet a nice chap soon, get married, and babies would come'. Lily privately thought that was easy to say when he'd met her mum in school. "Congratulations, honey," he sighed at last, and Lily beamed, because she'd expected her father to be less than impressed.

"Thanks, Dad," she murmured with feeling, blinking back tears that pricked the backs of her eyes.

Just then, Liam ran in, Viola right behind him, and said, "Mummy, Vi's wrecking my  _roads_ , and I'm  _hungry,_  and why is Nana  _crying_?"

"Nana sad," Viola said, looking curious as Ginny laughed. "Nana all better."

Priscilla sighed. "Nana's crying because she's too happy," James said, ruffling his son's dark hair affectionately. "And I'm hungry too, buddy. Can we eat now?"

Ginny retrieved the dropped whisk, mostly saving the gravy, and dinner was served. Lily ate until she felt like she'd burst, not quite able to regret seconds on dessert, although she had the urge to unbutton her jeans. "You're not eating for two yet," Albus teased, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Then just imagine how much I'll eat when I am," she replied. "We might have to stop inviting you to make sure there's enough to go around."

"Lily," her mother chided softly. "Everyone is always invited."

Albus smirked. "And don't tease your sister, Albus," Harry added. "She's in a delicate state."

Lily snorted at that. "I'm going to head out now. Thanks for dinner, Mum."

"I'll drive you, Lils," Albus said, rising as she did. "Since you're so delicate now."

"I'm good," she replied, but Albus hugged everyone in her wake anyway, and followed her out. "Seriously, I don't need a ride," she said.

Albus sighed and they paused at the end of the driveway, near his very nice BMW parked on the curb. "I need to ask you a question, but I know you're going to get mad at me, and I'd like you to promise you won't."

Lily stared. "That depends," she replied fairly. "Are you going to be a jerk?"

Albus pulled a face. "Probably."

"I'll try not to get mad," Lily said, only half meaning it.

Her brother toyed with his keys, then looked back up at her, frowning. "Did you sleep with Scorpius?"

Her stomach clenched in fear, heart dropping, but the redhead fought hard to maintain a calm facade. "What?" she asked.

"Scorpius. My best mate. Malfoy, y'know? Him. Did you sleep with him?"

Lily bit her lip. "Um, that's not really your bus-"

"You bet it's my business, Lily," he said, looking grouchy again. "Did you?"

"It's not your business at all if I slept with  _anyone_ ," Lily said angrily, redheaded temper flaring.

"He's my  _best mate_ , and you're my  _sister_ ," Albus said, as if that proved something. Lily didn't know what, but she wasn't buying it.

"Bollocks," she said firmly, and made to turn away.

"If you tell me he took advantage of you, I'll fucking kill him," Albus growled. "Same as anyone else you sleep with. Except if you mess him up in return, I'll probably never want to look at you again. See why that makes it my business?"

Lily pursed her lips turning back. "So what if I did?" she snapped, and her temper got the best of her as she pushed him abruptly. "And you can bloody well relax, Albus, because it wasn't anything but a fucking one night stand." She swallowed back the pang of rejection at her own words. "Ask him yourself." The redhead didn't wait for a response, turning away again, stomping down the street toward the nearest station for the tube.

On the ride back home, Lily pulled out her phone, and saw she had a text message, and then felt a jolt of something bizarre in her chest region, her skin prickling with warmth when she realized the number it was sent from was Malfoy's.

_Lily. This isn't fair. And just so you know, I was going to wait three weeks, but I caved._

She stared at the message, brows pulled together, and texted back.  _What's not fair? And I already told you, I wasn't making you wait or anything._  When Lily got home, she drew a hot bath, soaked until she was afraid she might never leave the tub again, and then got into her pyjamas and made to do a little work before bed.

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, seeing two texts from Rose and another from Malfoy's number. She bypassed Rose's messages and looked at the one from Scorpius.

_That you're so much smarter than me. And since you weren't actually busy (I won't believe you if now you say you were, and Al already told me you don't have a life) what were you doing then?_

The redhead wasn't sure whether to laugh or be offended as she replied.  _Of course I'm smarter than you, and always have been. What made you finally notice? And it's none of your business what I do._  She sent the text, then felt bad, because it was, in a way, kind of half his business what she did, considering her little bun anyway.

She pushed those thoughts aside, going to to her other messages, and read through Rose's texts, one pre-date, one post-date, with a guy she'd met at a bar. Lily assumed Rose would see him again, but doubted the guy would get lucky. She chuckled as her cousin described, in detail, the messiness of the goodnight kiss, and how his hands were 'copping more than a feel'. To her surprise, a third text from Malfoy's number buzzed in.

_Lots of things. But mostly that you obviously didn't think about me at all, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since your damn birthday. And it's also not fair that I never got round to shagging you rotten until right before I was due to leave the country. Honestly, little Lily, you were surprisingly fantastic, and I really want to have you again._

She sat in her cushy office chair, staring at her phone, mouth parted in shock, still thoroughly unsure if she was more amused or offended. Amused, because he seemed quite disturbed by the memory of sleeping with her in the very best way, offended because she was 'surprisingly' fantastic. As if he'd somehow doubted it. She pursed her mouth, ignored the message, and pointedly went back to Rose's messages to reply.

By the next morning, Lily had forgotten almost entirely that Scorpius had even texted her, and didn't get around to replying. By lunch, she still hadn't remembered, and it wasn't until she was going to sleep the next night that the redhead finally gave thought to Scorpius. She told herself she'd text him the next day, but upon waking, had forgotten completely.

As as the days stretched by, into a week and then two, she didn't spare another thought for Scorpius. Until the first morning of morning sickness almost a month after she'd last seen him. She heaved for almost a half hour over the toilet, cursing the blond bastard and his charm and for taking advantage of her while drunk. Even if she distinctly recalled him being very thorough as they went back to her place, that she was perfectly fine with everything and sober enough to give proper consent. And she definitely recalled practically throwing herself at him.

Lily finally felt the urge to retch fade and stood up on wobbly legs, sweating and shivering, and feeling awful. She ran the sink tap and rinsed her mouth, then rubbed the warm water over her face.  _You wanted this. It's not his fault, and you want this_. She regarded her reflection in the mirror and smiled a tiny bit, rubbing her still flat belly. "Hi, Baby," she murmured. "Please don't kick my butt." There was no response and Lily felt a tiny bit silly, so she simply started her day, calling Rose to share the joyous news that she was going to wake up and want to puke every morning for the next month or more.

And as the days and weeks progressed, Lily found a bizarre sort of comfort in thinking of Scorpius at random intervals. At the first ultrasound, when she heard and saw the little heartbeat within her, and the technician confirmed everything was normal and healthy, the redhead was choked with a strong feeling of gratitude for the blond's assistance in making her baby. She was even tempted to text Scorpius the video she'd recorded for Rose, although she held back. Somehow she doubted he'd like it as much as her cousin, but she had a strong surge of affection for the sexy blond in that moment regardless.

At last her dreams would, finally, after years of scrimping every penny and saving, and trying to be patient enough to see if the universe would simply send her a man she could be with, and start a family the natural way with, come true. She would be a mother. A little human being's Mum, the world to an infant who would make her existence on Earth a little more worthwhile. And even if she had to do it alone, Lily vowed she would do it, because she'd wanted a baby of her own since she was seventeen and her eldest cousin had had a baby. She'd known, even then, she wanted at least one child of her own. So she'd tried dating, and then not dating, and then everything in between, but no Mr. Right ever lasted long enough to even broach the subject with. And when Lily turned twenty five and she was still single, she'd given up the search for Mr. Right and started her quest for motherhood before the best of her baby-bearing years were behind her. Because she didn't need, or really want, to have to wait for a man to make her dreams come true. She was a smart, capable, woman, and she would forge her own future, husband or boyfriend be damned.

And now it would be just her, and her bean, and she would love her baby enough for two parents, because she  _wanted_  this.

XXX


	3. Comin' Home

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Three - Comin' Home

Scorpius rubbed his eyes wearily with both hands, pressing his thumb and forefinger together over the bridge of his nose for a moment, exhausted from the flight. He readjusted his laptop bag on his shoulder, waiting in the baggage claim area well ahead of most of the other passengers, plucking his bag from the roving carousel, and hoped to God Albus had listened when he'd told him to pick him up early after the flight was due in.

Relief washed over him, relaxing the tall, grey eyed blond and he clapped a hand on his best friend's shoulder in greeting. Albus hugged him briefly. "It's good to have you back, mate," the dark haired man said as they made their way to the exit of the airport. Scorpius snorted.

"It's damn good to be back. If I had to listen to one more goddamn American saying pip pip cheerio, I might've snapped." Albus chuckled. "So what's new 'round here?"

Albus rolled vibrant emerald green eyes. "The same as usual. Mum and Dad keep asking when I'm going to bring a girl to Sunday dinner, James's brats are more large and obnoxious and painfully cute every week, and now there's the ever so pleasing prospect of yet another niece or nephew."

Scorpius snorted. "James and Priscilla are having another kid?" he asked, closing his eyes and resting back comfortably.

Albus laughed. "No. Shit, I didn't tell you?" Scorpius opened his eyes. "Lily got knocked up."

Scorpius felt, for one insane, bizarre moment, a flash of incoherent, scalding jealousy, that was soon overshadowed by shock. "What?" he managed to choke out.

"Yeah," Albus said. "She apparently just found out like right after you left. It was the craziest thing."

Scorpius felt his stomach drop, instantly thinking about the night he'd left. Could it be possible-? "Who'd she get knocked up by?" Scorpius asked, trying to convince himself he was being paranoid. He'd taken precautions every single time with Lily, specifically to avoid any chance of a baby, and he was fairly certain they'd all done the job without defect. There was simply no goddamn way he could-

"No one knows," Albus replied, sighing as they hit rush hour traffic, thoroughly cutting off Scorpius's thoughts. "Except her, anyway. She refuses to tell anyone."

The blond frowned. "Why the secrecy?" he asked. "And is she really just going to have a baby all by herself?" he asked, kind of shocked by that. He couldn't fathom such a life, personally, and he never would've thought the feisty redhead would either.

Albus snorted. "I don't bloody know. And what d'you think? It's bloody Lily. Once she gets an idea in her head she doesn't let it go. She's been planning it for ages apparently." Scorpius frowned. "Why d'you care anyway?" Albus asked, giving him a suspicious look. The blond smoothed his face.

"I don't. I'm fucking knackered, and I'm trying to stay awake."

Albus grimaced. "Best of luck with that, because my parents forced me, on pain of disinheritance, to drag you over for a 'welcome home gathering'. Mum's words." Scorpius scowled, because he wanted to go home and sleep, but the Potters had always been exceptionally kind to him, treating him as a member of their family whenever he'd stayed over with Al. So instead of demanding to go home, he accepted the inevitable and didn't say a word as they headed toward the Potter house.

They got to the Potter residence just after six, and although Scorpius had been up for almost eighteen hours, he put on a smile as Ginny Potter embraced him. The blond was thankful it seemed to only be the Potters present, and not a whole host of people, and followed a babbling Ginny back to the kitchen.

The blond fought a yawn, looking around the familiar room, and moved to shake Harry Potter's hand. "Welcome back," Harry said pleasantly. "Enjoy your time with the Yanks?" he asked, smirking, and Scorpius grinned.

"Not as much as I suppose I could've were I in better company," he responded.

"Mum, d'you know how much longer it'll be before-?" Lily asked coming in from the lounge, and abruptly stopped talking as she looked at Scorpius.

"Lily," he said politely, but she still just stared, and then her cheeks went pink a little bit, and she smiled mechanically. The blond couldn't help but stare back at her. Once tall and willowy, Lily was still tall, but decidedly less willowy through the mid section. Her belly was a curiously round bulge, just starting to distend, her hips a smidge wider, thighs perhaps a bit fuller, but he was having trouble noticing anything past her deliciously full breasts, practically spilling out of her tank top. And, although he felt the tiniest bit weirded out, he couldn't help but feel distinctly turned on by the changes to her appearance. She was so deliciously ripe, and  _full_  and he squashed the urge to undress her with his eyes or, worse, with more than just his eyes. "When is your baby due?" he asked, trying to maintain his facade of relaxed contentedness, even as he eyed her up hungrily, unable to help recalling how she'd looked the night he left, even as she lifted her brows.

"December twelfth," she said softly, and rubbed the bump soothingly.

"Congratulations," he said and she smiled a little.

"Thanks. And, er, welcome back I suppose." She turned to her mother. "Is food almost ready? I'm starving."

Albus rolled green eyes. "How are you hungry? You were eating when you showed up."

"So?" Lily shot back, brows pulling together. Scorpius grinned a little.

"You're gonna get chubby, sister of mine."

"Albus," Ginny chided, and Scorpius frowned now.

"That's not particularly nice," he said. "She's growing a baby." And, Scorpius reckoned, it was doing wonders for her tits.

"Yeah, doofus," Priscilla said, coming in from the lounge. Albus laughed openly at her poorly applied blush as Priscilla went to her diaper bag for a baby wipe and flipped her brother in law off.

Lily snuck one last glance at Scorpius, feeling oddly grateful for him coming to her defence, but also a tiny bit offended that he'd smirked when Albus had pointed out she ate all the time. "I probably will get chubby," the redhead said cheerfully, and shrugged, rubbing her growing bump with both hands, the little life within fluttering. "But it'll be worth it."

"You bet," Priscilla said firmly. "Even when you look like a clown."

"Dinner's ready!" Ginny announced, and suddenly Scorpius was surrounded by Potters, except for Lily, who made a beeline for the roast.

Two hours later, the redhead was half asleep on the couch, feeling warm and full, and content. Across from her, in one of the wingbacks, Scorpius looked like he was also about to nod off. She sighed, eyes drooping closed, and felt a flutter in her belly, rubbing it, and then something harder, a for sure kick.

"Stop that," she murmured, rubbing her bump, smiling a little.

"Stop what?" Scorpius asked and when Lily opened her eyes again, it was to see Scorpius, alert and bright eyed, looking at her with interest. She felt her cheeks heat guiltily, as her mouth parted a bit and her baby kicked again.

"Not you," she said softly, although when his eyes dropped to her cleavage  _again_  she changed her mind. He could stop checking out her boobs any time, preferably. "It's just my little bean, getting excited," she said and rubbed her bump. A flutter followed by a kick hit her hand and she smiled.

"So I have to ask," Scorpius said, and Lily gulped, because as her father got up to see about thirds for dessert, they were completely alone in the lounge. Ginny and Priscilla were tidying the kitchen, James and Albus had taken the kids outside to play and blow off steam, and Lily couldn't think of any proper way to tell him the truth of her situation should he ask.

"Ask what?" Lily asked through numb lips.

"Why in the name of God d'you want to have a baby by yourself?" Lily sat up, shocked.

"Who says I'll be by myself?" she demanded.

"Albus," Scorpius replied. "He said you won't tell anyone who the father is and that you've been planning this for ages, apparently. I just don't get it, personally." Lily felt her temper fire up at that.

"Well I won't be by myself," she snapped and sat up properly. "I'll have Mum and Priscilla. And I have Rose and the rest of my Weasleys."

Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, lifting his brows skeptically. "And that's enough?" he drawled.

Lily stood up, tossing her long red hair feeling furious. "What, you think I can't do it without a man or something?" she demanded. "You don't think  _I_  can raise  _my_  baby?"

"Not in the slightest," he said, blond eyebrows lifting in surprise at her passionate outburst. "I simply don't understand why you'd  _want_  to."

Her lip curled, and Lily was suddenly glad she'd never told the arrogant bastard her baby was actually thanks to him. "Then it's a good thing you're not the one knocked up, isn't it, Malfoy?" she spat, and turned to march out of the room.

"Does the father not want any part of it?" he asked softly, and Lily turned. He looked sincerely confused and the redhead felt a wave of sadness.

"He's made it startlingly apparent he doesn't want to," she said, swallowing past the urge to cry, just as Harry came back in. "I think I'm going to head out," Lily said to her father, moving to hug him. "See you on Sunday," she added kissing him on the cheek. "Good seeing you," she added blandly to Scorpius, and left the room, saying goodbye to her mother and Priscilla and waving to her brothers and the kids in the back garden. On the bus ride home, she couldn't help but replay the conversation with Scorpius over in her mind. The look on his face, when he'd asked her why in the name of God she wanted to have a baby by herself, had been pure distaste. And, even though she hadn't been expecting it, she'd somehow assumed that when Scorpius saw her again, he'd be pleased by the news she was having a baby. Instead she'd been met with confusion and complete dismissal. And that had hurt.

_What did you expect? You're his best friend's little sister, not his lover, and he doesn't even know it's his baby._  Lily sighed, brushing a stray tear from her cheek, and almost missed her stop, pulling the cord just in time. When she walked the two blocks to her apartment and pulled her keys out, she was surprised to see a cab pull up behind her in the reflection of the glass door. She glanced round, wondering which of her neighbours had a visitor, and almost choked when Scorpius stepped out, looking exhausted and grim.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Why are you mad at me?" he countered. Lily snorted, rolling her eyes, and shoved her key into the lock.

"Why would I be mad at you?" she replied. "You're nothing to me. I'm not mad, or hurt, or even offended that you're an insufferably rude berk sometimes, and I could care less what you think about me having a baby," she said in a fake cheerful voice, sarcasm all but dripping from the words. Scorpius lifted a brow.

"Wow," he said, and grinned. "That baby's making you crazier than normal," he said. She narrowed her eyes, temper ramping up.

"Then go home, Malfoy," she spat. She made to pull the heavy door open after unlocking it, and gasped with surprise as his strong arm pulled it open for her, and felt a hot blast of arousal when she caught a whiff of his cologne. "What are you doing?" she demanded as he followed her into the lobby.

"Being an insufferably rude berk," he replied, smirking. "Are you inviting me up?"

"No!" she half shouted.

"Why not?" he shot back, and she grit her teeth when his eyes dropped to her chest again.

"My eyes are up here, Malfoy," she growled. He shot her an adorably sheepish smile.

"Sorry," he said, sounding anything but. "Your breasts are  _very_  distracting in that shirt, darling," he murmured. Lily grit her teeth so hard she feared she might get lockjaw.

"Get out of my apartment building," she snarled.

"Make me." her mouth parted in shock, brows shooting up in disbelief.  _What is he, fucking twelve_?

"I don't have to," she said loftily, moving toward the stairs. "The police will do that. Good _bye_ , Malfoy." To her chagrin, he merely followed her up the stairs. "Seriously, go away," she grumbled, stomping angrily.

"No thanks," he said politely. She glared and folded her arms, a bit winded by ascending two flights quite rapidly. "Maybe you should start taking the elevator," he murmured, and even as she felt herself melt a little at the obvious concern in his eyes and voice, Lily couldn't help but still be mad, and confused about why he wasn't taking a hint.

"Seriously, Scorpius, what are you doing here?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Honestly?" he rumbled, looking at her cleavage  _again_. He looked back at her, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "I have no idea. I'm fucking knackered, I want to go home and sleep, but it's really bothering me that you're so grumpy." Shock rendered Lily silent for a beat. "And," he added, "I was kind of hoping you'd invite me in for a repeat of your birthday."

That knocked words back into Lily's brain. "You followed me home because you think I'm an easy lay?" she asked incredulously. His mouth twisted.

"It sounds awful when you say it like that." Her brows shot almost off her forehead, mouth gaping.

"Fuck you!" she snapped, and shoved him, hard, in the chest. "I am not an easy lay," she said, whirling around and stomping down the hall to her flat.

"That's not what I meant, Lily," Scorpius said, following her again. "I mean, well, you did just sort of fall into bed with me, but I don't think-"

"Go away!" she half shouted over him.

"Lily, please, I-"

Just then, a door opened and a positively huge, middle aged man stepped out. His arms were the thickness of Lily's thighs, he towered over even Scorpius, and looked angry. "Hey buddy," he growled, folding his massive arms over a barrel chest, filling the hallway, "she said to go away."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes a little. "Sorry, and you are-?"

"This is Mike," Lily said. "Mike, this is Scorpius, my brother's best friend. He was just going," she added, narrowing her eyes at Scorpius as if daring him to go head to head with The Incredible Hulk.

"Lily," Scorpius said, and Mike glowered at him. The tall blond pulled a face. "I'll see you around," he said at last, and turned tail, heading back downstairs. Lily let out the breath she'd been holding and slumped against her front door, directly across from Mike's.

"So that's the guy," Mike said conversationally. Lily looked up at her neighbour, shocked. "The baby's dad," he clarified.

"How did y-?"

Mike laughed. "Honey," he said, "my ol' lady had four kids when I met her, and I only seen her act crazy-mad like that 'round their daddies."

Lily gulped. "Yeah," she admitted. "Um, he um… He doesn't know." Her hands went instinctively to her bump. "I haven't told him it's his," she whispered guiltily, feeling close to tears.

"C'mon, no crying, honey," he said, sounding nervous. "Look, it's not my place, but you know you gotta tell him, right? A man deserves to know that kinda thing."

The redhead nodded miserably. "I just… It was a one time thing. Okay, a two time thing, really, but that's it. And he's just come back from the States, and I don't-" She shook her head, because even in her mind, saying 'I don't want to share my baby with him' sounded pretty awful. He was the father, after all. "I don't know how to tell him," she said instead.

"Honey," Mike said, patting her shoulder consolingly, "it's not as big a deal as you're playing it up in your head." Lily looked up at her neighbour, who'd initially terrified her when she'd moved in two years previous, but had proven himself to be the best of guys, and his 'ol' lady', Beth, was a sweetheart. He might be a nice guy, but the redhead was pretty sure he was crazy. It was kind of a huge deal.

"Sure thing. Thanks, Mike," she said turning to unlock her own front door.

"No problem, kiddo. You need me, I'm here."

She waved to him, smiling over her shoulder then went into her little flat, but when she looked across her open concept apartment, all Lily could see was Scorpius standing in her kitchen the morning after they'd made her baby. And all she could think about as she paced toward her bedroom was seeing him getting dressed in her living room, where their clothes had wound up the night before.

"Ugh," she said aloud, and sighed, going to take a bath before her exciting plans that evening that included working until she fell asleep. As she ran the tub, Lily tried to ignore the memories of Scorpius, and how magnificent it had been to go to bed with him. She slipped into the tub after undressing, and sighed, relaxing her body, even if her mind was still troubled.

Lily hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was kind of more than a little regretting that she hadn't just bloody well invited the obnoxious, arrogant prick over for some more no-strings sex.  _Yeah right, he's probably only interested because you're an easy lay for_ him.  _Hell, you put out with almost no effort on his part twice before. He's not gonna be interested in sex on the regular with a pregnant chick. Even if the boobs are a nice bonus._

She sighed and then her phone buzzed on the vanity. Lily sat up and grabbed it, then almost dropped the goddamn thing in the tub. Because if she wasn't crazy, or hallucinating, or dreaming, Scorpius had just texted her. She opened it up and swallowed.  _I hope that's not the father_.

Lily felt a sudden urge to tell him who the father actually was, but held back, and instead replied as politely as possible.  _Nope. Mike's already taken, and his wife could probably beat me up_. She was about to press send, and then added, if only to be a jerk,  _Plus you already know the father_.

Lily went out the next morning to go crib shopping with Rose, even though Lily already had what she wanted picked out, and was merely borrowing Rose and her car to bring said cot home. "So I heard Malfoy's back," Rose said almost the second Lily had buckled herself into her cousin's yellow Jeep.

"Mmm," Lily said noncommittally.

"When are you telling him about Jr.?" Rose asked and Lily glared.

"Never," the redhead said firmly. Rose's brows lifted. "He doesn't want anything to do with a baby."

The blue eyed woman frowned. "How d'you know?"

"He all but said it, when he showed up at dinner last night, at my parents' house. He literally said, and I quote, 'I don't understand why you'd  _want_  to', Rose. I think that's pretty clear." Rose frowned some more.

"But you didn't tell him it was his, did you?" she finally asked. Lily rolled hazel eyes.

"Yeah," she snapped sarcastically. "That would've been a great follow up to him wanting to know why I want to have a baby, because he didn't get it. Telling him it's biologically his, too."

Rose shrugged. "He might've changed his mind," she said fairly. Lily snorted. "C'mon, you have to tell him, Lily,' she sighed.

The redhead shrugged. "Maybe," she hedged, because she really didn't want to, and didn't know how, and had no plans to actually do so. But she knew, deep down, she  _should_. Her cousin changed the subject when they got to the baby store.

"So," Rose said, as they paused by the clothing section, ogling the adorable, face-meltingly cute, tiny baby clothes, "I went out with touchy feely, messy snog bloke again," she said blandly. "Guess what?"

Lily laughed, because it seemed  _all_  of Rose's dates lately had been with total losers. "What?"

"He got to second base," her cousin said blandly. "And then it was all over for him." Lily tried to hold back her laughter, but couldn't. Her cousin grinned. "Seriously, laugh all you want, because I'm so over guys. Like literally, fuck them all."

Lily shrugged. "See where I'm coming from? Why should I wait around for Mr. Right to give me a baby when I can have my own baby?" she said as her cousin lifted up tiny overalls.

"Oh God, this is making my ovaries hurt it's so cute," she murmured, then put it back. "But you kind of got your baby from Mr. Right, anyhow."

Lily laughed with derision now, eyeing up some ultra cute little booties in pale yellow and grey. "Yeah right. No way in Hell is Sc-Malfoy even remotely close to being my Mr. Right," she said firmly.

Rose merely smirked. "Sure thing, Lils. C'mon, let's go see what you got." Lily rolled her eyes, but picked up the booties. Her baby was due in the winter, so of course he or she would need to stay warm. "When d'you find out if it's boy or girl?" Rose asked for the seventy eighth time.

Lily sighed. "Next ultrasound. Which is in two weeks."

"Ugh, that's forever," her cousin sighed. "I'm dying to know. I hope it's a boy."

The redhead nodded at her auburn haired cousin. "Me too," she said on a sigh, because she wanted nothing more to have a little Mama's boy. Her little man. Although she'd be just as pleased with a happy, healthy baby girl.

"And then I can plan your baby shower."

Lily bit her lip because she'd promised her mother and Priscilla they could plan the event. Just then a saleswoman came over. "Can I help you?' she asked pleasantly.

"I need to pick up an order," Lily said, pulling out her order receipt.

The sales lady smiled. "Congratulations," she said. "You and your partner must be so happy."

"Oh no," Lily said quickly. "This is my cousin."

"I'm the godmother to be," Rose said, and the sales lady looked embarrassed.

"Let's see your receipt," the woman said, and they headed to the pick up area.

While they waited for the woman who'd thought they were a couple to get the crib Lily had ordered, the redhead perused her phone and found a message from Scorpius.  _Interesting_.

Lily wondered if there was anything else forthcoming, but the message had been sent an hour ago, and nothing. She frowned, but shrugged, and typed back a response. More because she wanted to keep some kind of link to him, if only for her baby's sake.  _You bet. If you don't know yet, I'm sure you'll figure it out._

She realized then that he might very well assume it was himself, and bit her lip. She didn't want him to feel like she couldn't tell him. But the fact was, she couldn't tell him. It felt too late, and Lily was almost positive, if she did tell him he'd fathered her child, he'd feel like she'd kept it from him on purpose. Which she had only sort of done.

He texted back quickly, and she realized he must be actively on his phone.  _I'm sure I will. Meet me for coffee at eight tomorrow._

Lily frowned, because he hadn't been asking. And he was being awfully presumptuous in thinking she'd just show up. But at the same time, she knew she had to tell him at some point the truth of her baby's existence. So she texted back.  _Fine. Starbucks on Wellington._

Scorpius looked down at his phone in surprise, and then smirked. He'd been expecting her to snap at him, perhaps replying something about sodding off because she wasn't going to do what he told her to or some such, but instead she'd merely accepted. The blond tried not to read into it as he stretched out in bed, feeling distinctly sore.

"What are you doing awake?" his bed mate purred, tossing her over processed blonde hair and sitting up. Scorpius set his phone aside, because he wasn't foolish enough to admit he was texting another woman.

"Waiting for you to wake up, darling," he replied. She grinned and he smirked, guiding her head gently lower, and as she sucked him off, Scorpius told himself it was foolish to think about his best mate's little sister instead of the busty blonde he'd picked up at a bar last night. And while he knew it was stupid and pointless to imagine it was the fiery redhead's mouth on him, he couldn't help it. He couldn't rid the image of Lily, all luscious and tempting, even while knocked up, from his mind, and when Scorpius rolled the little blonde over, it was too easy to pretend it was Lily as he pushed into her tight heat.

XXX


	4. Confessions

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Four - Confessions

Lily stood in front of her closet, freshly showered and in her favourite bra and panties, a bright turquoise set she'd just recently purchased to accommodate the growing size of her boobs, and frowned, because she had  _nothing_  to wear. Well, she had plenty to wear, but she didn't have anything she  _wanted_  to wear, and all the things she did want to wear, that were nice and classy enough to wear to meet up with the posh blond, wouldn't fit. Not anymore.

Sighing, Lily rubbed her bump, smiling a little at the flutter within. "I know, my little baby bean," she murmured. "I'm kind of excited too," she admitted. "But I'm also nervous. We have to tell him, and I still don't know how." The redhead pulled out a very nice black dress that had been snug when she'd last worn it a few weeks back, and tried to wriggle into it, with no luck. She was simply too big. "Shit," she grumbled, tossing the dress aside. She pulled out another dress, this one loose and flowy and in a mottled green and blue print, and tried to make it contain her boobs. It was patently too small. She growled, ripping it off, and threw it aside as well.

Half an hour later, feeling dangerously close to tears, she pulled on black leggings, a cream coloured tank top, and threw her hair up into a messy bun. She'd exhausted all her options, and didn't want to be late, so she settled on her usual outfit of choice. Tank, leggings, sweatshirt. She grabbed her purse and cell phone, swiped on some mascara to bolster her confidence, and grimaced at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She wasn't going to win any awards for being the best dressed pregnant lady, but at least she'd be comfortable and wearing something clean.

She got to the Starbucks early, ordered a decaf caramel macchiato, a massive blueberry scone, and a black and white cookie, and sat at a little table near the window. To her chagrin, Scorpius was late, and by ten after, the redhead was just starting to consider walking out when he finally pushed into the coffee shop and looked around. Lily told herself she wasn't relieved when he smiled at her and strode toward her.

He sat down, looking like a million dollars with his platinum hair falling in carelessly elegant disarray across his forehead, white shirt unbuttoned at the throat and pushed up his arms, and Lily gulped, feeling a sharp kick in her belly as he sat down across from her. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she breathed, and took a sip of her drink. "Um, so why did you want to meet me?" Her baby kicked again and she grimaced, because that one was right in the bladder.

Scorpius looked concerned and nervous all of a sudden. "You're not like, going to go into labour or anything, right?" he said.

Lily snorted. "Unlikely," she said dismissively. "Let's hope not anyway." She bit into her cookie. "So what d'you want?"

He shrugged. "I don't want it to be like this with us," he said after a pause.

Lily's brows pulled together. "Like what?"

"This," he said, gesturing between them. "I don't want to bicker with you, Lily."

She grinned, because his eyes dropped to her cleavage and she had a fairly good idea of what sort of activities he'd prefer. She crossed her legs, sitting back, and rubbed her belly. "So don't," she said lightly. He frowned. "I mean, it doesn't really matter, right? It's not like we're friends."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you're already friends with Al, and he's my older brother."

Scorpius tilted his head a little, conceding that point. "Are those the only options?" he asked after a moment. "Bickering or nothing at all?"

Lily sipped her macchiato, eyes narrowed. "What other options could there be?"

Dark grey eyes slid over her appraisingly. "Lots," he rumbled, and she sucked in a breath as a hot flash of desire had her getting turned on despite herself. She willed her nipples to stay soft. "Sweet fuck," he whispered raggedly, and looked down. "Seriously, I'm not sure if you did it on purpose, but your breasts look even more bloody fantastic today, Lily, and they're making it quite difficult to concentrate."

She lifted a burgundy brow and sat forward purposely, leaning across toward him, elbows on the little table, and felt a stab of satisfaction when he groaned ever so slightly. "Yeah?" she drawled. "That must suck for you."

"It's fucking torture," he said, the timbre of his voice raking across her ears pleasurably. Her nipples were definitely rock hard now.

"Poor baby," she crooned, and laughed, sitting back. He shot her a darkly calculating look.

"Do you want to hear the options?" he asked. She smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. Lay it on me, Malfoy." His gaze darkened at her flippant tone, and she watched him purposefully reach out, commandeer her coffee, and take a drink. And even though she was tempted to smack his hand for it, she was struck how damn fucking good he looked, drinking her coffee.  _No. It's the hormones. He's a prick, you hate him, and the only option that's even viable is the no-strings sex_.

"Option one, you let me take you to dinner tonight." Her brows lifted.

"Like a date?" she demanded.

"Yes," he said. She shook her head. Because while a very large part of her was doing a happy dance inside, the practical part of her rejected that. If she dated Scorpius, she knew she'd fall for him in a heartbeat, and he'd never want the committed, forever, eventually-marriage kind of long term relationship she'd dreamed of since she was a teenager. And Lily wouldn't,  _couldn't_ , let him break her heart whenever something new struck his fancy, because she had her baby to think about now. It wasn't just her heart on the line anymore.

"Nope," she said lightly. "Next."

He looked shocked for a beat, but shrugged. "Fine. The second option involves you coming back to my place, letting me strip that tank top and the rest right off you, and lots of very hot, nasty sex." Lily almost choked on her cookie, face going red. Scorpius grinned.

"Excuse me?" she said, not actually having thought he'd pitch that.

"You're excused," he said and the redhead grit her teeth. "So?"

"You've got to be fucking daft if you think I'm even  _remotely_ interested," she said rudely, even though it was a total lie. He grinned, seeming to know she was fibbing.

"Then why are your nipples hard?" he murmured very softly, and she automatically pulled her hoodie together over her boobs.

"Fuck you," she hissed, and crammed the last of her cookie in her mouth, grabbing her coffee.

"Is that a yes, then?" he said, and got up in the same moment she did.

"It's a good thing you're handsome," she said acidly, and he chuckled a little.

"Because I'm a right prick sometimes?" he supplied.

"No," Lily said. "Because it should make finding someone else to be your easy lay lots easier." She hustled out of Starbucks, feeling a jumble of emotions. Anger, arousal, sadness, guilt, lust, regret, longing, and, most of all, frustration. That she couldn't even have a damn conversation with the father of her baby. How was she supposed to tell him anything when she wanted to hit him almost any time he opened his mouth?

"You're kind of mean," Scorpius said from behind her.

"You're more than kind of an asshole," Lily shot back, unable to quell the elation that he'd followed her. She told herself when he tossed his arm around her shoulders her breathing hitched only from surprise, not the hot blast of molten arousal at his proximity.

"You bet, darling," he murmured. "Take pity on me and come home with me." Lily snorted, but when she looked up at his dark grey eyes, she was struck again with that odd sense of vulnerability in them. And her baby rolled over, making her belly flutter and wriggle, and she tried to ignore the primal part of her that was greedy with wanting.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she breathed.

"Why not?" he murmured, and then his head turned in toward her, lips whispering up her neck.

She had to bite her lip. "Because Al already found out we slept together last time and was kind of pissed about it," she said without thinking, biting her tongue too late. To her surprise, Scorpius laughed.

"I know. He sent me several very rude text messages while I was away." Her mouth parted in surprise, and she was about to ask what her stupid brother had said, but then Scorpius leaned in and kissed her softly, his sensual mouth moving over hers with consummate skill, and Lily almost forgot how to breathe. And before she could stop herself, she turned into him completely, her bump and breasts pressing against him, and her hands went of their own accord up and over his shoulders. "Fuck, Lily, please don't tell me no again," he breathed between hungry kisses, and she groaned.

"Okay," she whispered, surrendering against the voice that she presumed was her conscience. "But we're going to my place."

By the time they got to her apartment, Lily was regretting her impulsive decision. She'd wanted to have him in the comfort of her own bed, but when she opened her front door, his lips on her neck making her hands fumble on the keys a little, she felt a stab of guilt when she looked at the little cot in one corner of her living room, and even more guilt at the sight of the as yet unused pram in her dining room.

But then Scorpius closed the door behind himself, and said against her ear, "Relax, Lily." She melted back against him, and felt liquid, molten desire pooling between her legs as his teeth nipped her neck and his hands moved around to fondle her breasts through too many layers of clothing. "If you tell me to stop I will," he rumbled, but the thought couldn't have been further from Lily's mind.

"Don't stop, please," she whispered despite herself.

The tall blond grinned and Lily groaned as his hands smoothed down her sides. "I won't," he promised and the redhead smiled then turned and shed her hoodie before he was kissing her hungrily again. "Fuck, you're so fucking good Lily," he groaned, and she flattened herself to him as much as possible as he grabbed her ass firmly. Her bump remained stubbornly in the way, impeding her attempts to grind into him. And then to make her frustration a complete mix with embarrassment and disappointment, the baby kicked hard and right into Scorpius's belly through hers.

His eyes went wide and she clenched hers shut, half braced for the rejection. "Was that-?"

"Um, yeah," Lily said, eyes popping open, face bright red. She pulled away and felt a jolt of rejection as Scorpius merely stared at her belly blankly. "Sorry," she said blandly. "I guess you should just go."

Tears stung her eyes as she turned away, irrationally hurt that he was so obviously turned off by her baby kicking him. God, he'd helped make her little bean and yet he couldn't stand feeling it. The redhead grit her teeth and told herself firmly it didn't matter.  _So he's freaked out by the baby. Whatever. His loss._  And she almost believed herself, except that her own libido was still ramped up and she felt thoroughly frustrated she wouldn't get the pleasure she'd thought was coming and knew Scorpius could deliver.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked softly.

Lily wet her lips, then glanced over her shoulder at him. "No," she said evenly. "But I'm going to go out on a limb and assume my baby's going to move if we do this, and you don't seem okay with that."

Scorpius pushed a hand through his light blond hair, looking torn. "Don't take this the wrong way," he said after his dark grey eyes roved over her hotly, "but I've never done this with a pregnant woman before."

Her eyes narrowed. "And?"

"And," he continued, "I've never really wanted to do it with a pregnant woman before." Shock had her brows lifting, because that sounded like a backhanded compliment if she'd ever heard one. "Until now," he added hastily. "But what I mean is, it's kind of all new for me, Lily."

"Yeah, well I've never done it as a pregnant woman and yet I'm not going funny," she snapped. He grinned, and she recalled the time before he'd gone on his four month business trip, because she'd technically been pregnant then.

"Really?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" she replied.

"No," he rumbled. "Not at all." He took a step closer, very deliberately cupping the weight of her breast, thumbing her already hard nipples through her tank and her lacy bra. "But I'll be shocked if you tell me no one's been interested."

Her mouth parted, because that sounded like a full on compliment to her, and she felt her arousal skyrocketing. Lily licked her lips but shrugged. "Not until now," she admitted. Not that she'd exactly been looking. The morning sickness had lingered into her second trimester, and just recently faded. Hence her desire to eat anything and everything, all the time. But she hadn't been remotely interested in sex until laying eyes on the tall, mouthwatering sexy blond bastard when he'd come back.

"Shocking," he murmured, sounding awed and feeding her ego, and then he looked at her belly again, then her breasts, and at last her eyes. "I have to say, and I hope it doesn't sound creepy in the slightest, being pregnant looks  _damn_  good on you." The redhead swallowed thickly, feeling a hot blast of desire as her ego preened and her conscience was drowned out by her wanting for him.

"Thanks," she breathed, and then he was kissing her again, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips, just like the night he'd left for the States, and she pressed up into him again. His hands slid up under her tank, over her sides and around her ribcage to her breasts, and when she lifted her arms, Scorpius quickly divested Lily of her shirt. Her own hands lifted to unbutton his shirt, and she was so focused on her task, she didn't see the way Scorpius's dark grey eyes roved over her, in only her bra, tracing the bulge of her belly with mingled wonder and desire. When she did look up, she couldn't hold back the words. "Why are you staring at my baby?" she asked softly.

Scorpius looked up at her and smiled, looking a tiny bit sheepish. "I've never really seen one like that before." He tilted his head a little, glancing back at it, and Lily licked her lips as she felt a tiny flutter. "Can I touch it?" he murmured, almost shyly.

The redhead told herself not to read into it. "Sure," she said in a rough voice, thick with emotion anyway, and held her breath as his large warm hand smoothed over her bump, and her breath huffed out in a sigh of instinctual contentedness. It felt bizarrely, perfectly natural, the way his large hand moved gently over her baby bump, warm against her exposed flesh, and as she relaxed, her baby kicked hard. Scorpius's brows lifted.

"Does it do that all the time?" he asked curiously, and she shook her head. Because now that she thought about it, the only person, other than him, who'd really felt a good kick from her bean had been Rose. His hand moved away, and Lily swallowed past the urge to frown, reach out, and put it back. Because while it had felt incredible, she knew it was dangerous to lull herself into thinking he might want part of her baby.

That thought was underlined when his hands moved to her breasts and he grunted, thumbing her hard nipples through the lace of her bra.  _He's only interested in one thing_. The reminder didn't do much to flatten her arousal, and she greedily ran her hands up his hard, flat stomach and chest, pushing his shirt off his shoulders, and then let her hands wander to all the places she'd missed on the way up as they went back down and paused on his belt.

"You don't have to stop, darling," he rumbled, and she licked her lips again, feeling almost drunk with lust. She undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans and then greediness won out. She couldn't resist slipping a hand into his pants and fondling his very obvious erection, and felt a jolt of eager anticipation to have him inside her. "That you may have to stop if you want me to last, though," he said, voice much rougher, and Lily smiled devilishly, then pulled her hand away, reached around, and undid her bra.

Scorpius looked at her for a long moment, then hooked his fingers into her leggings and tugged downward. "Are we going to the bedroom?" he murmured, and the redhead groaned as his fingertips traced across the waistband of her pants. "Because if I get you naked now, I'm not waiting."

"Let's go," she breathed, and all but dragged him to her bedroom.

They paused beside her bed, snogging messily, and Lily at last divested him of the last of his clothing while he swiftly did the same for her, both quickly stepping out of their pants. "I can't tell you how much I've thought about this in the last four months," Scorpius breathed as she slid into bed and he moved over her, shifting his weight to one elbow to fondle a breast, and then licked her nipple erotically. "Fuck, I dreamed about tasting you again," he murmured, and then his mouth closed around the hard nub and she moaned, trying to arch up into him, but her baby was firmly in the way.

"I dreamed about riding you again," she said, and pushed at his shoulders. The blond withdrew, and she rolled them, a smidge awkwardly, until she was astride his lap, finally free to grind against him. She moaned, because she was almost embarrassingly ready to go.

"Sweet fuck," he breathed, grasping her hips lightly, then reached around and grabbed her ass. "Oh fuck yeah, darling," he grunted, urging her to move faster as she rubbed her dripping folds teasingly over him.

Her head tilted back in bliss, and then she shifted her weight forward, reached down and gripped his rock hard prick. "I'm not waiting," she said roughly, and he groaned as she lined him up with her entrance.

"I need a-" Lily arched a brow and Scorpius paused. "Shit."

"Lucky you, hmm?" she purred, and then sank down onto him, groaning as she accommodated him. And Lily knew it had been a long time, but she felt almost unbearably full, and groaned again, rocking teasingly.

Scorpius merely laid there, watching her take his length, rocking her pelvis greedily once she'd bottomed out on him, making the sexiest, most delicious groans of fulfillment he'd ever heard. And when her slick, hot, oh so fucking tight pussy clenched around him, he had to bite his lip to stay the urge to fuck her senseless and come in the next ten seconds. "Jesus fucking Christ," he breathed, holding her probably too tight.

Her head tilted back again, and then she lifted and sank down, fast and greedy, and Scorpius was in the most perfect sort of agony. He'd forgotten, in the dozen or so years it had been that he'd had sex with a woman without the hassle of a condom, how fucking amazing it felt to have sex bareback. But he wanted to sit back and let Lily have her experience. He didn't think she'd want more than one from him, even if he wouldn't at all mind having her again, preferably the next morning.

"Scorpius," she murmured, and he instantly relaxed his tight grip on her hips as she rode him, and she whimpered. "No, I want more," she gasped, her delicious, full breasts bouncing temptingly, thoroughly distracting him. He sat up on one elbow and took her nipple into his mouth, suckling greedily at the engorged nub, loving her sounds of pleasure. And the blond couldn't help it, and thrust up into her on her next downstroke, wrenching out a sharp cry.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he breathed, voice low and ragged with suppressed wanting, and she shook her head.

"No," she said firmly, "that was good. More, more, please,  _more_." Her eyes clenched shut as she rode him harder, moaning. He shifted to suckle her other nipple, thrusting up lazily with her quick, steady rhythm, and watched her thrusting her breasts out, legs spreading impossibly wider, inviting him unbearably deep into her tight, wet heat. "Yes," she moaned. "Ooh, Scorpius,  _yes_."

He grunted, because he was close, and if he gave in now and pounded her into oblivion from below like his body was aching to do, he'd never last. "Yes, darling," he rasped. "Fuck, I'm not going to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lily was biting her lip, whimpering, and moaned, "Fuck, me neither."

The blond let go at that, grasping her ass firmly in both hands and thrusting up into her with wild abandon, racing toward an explosive release. He wasn't sure, in the hazy, blissed out aftermath of what had quite possibly been the best orgasm of his life, if Lily had even finished, but then she groaned, and clenched around him one last time.

She at last lifted off of him, panting and on all fours, then dropped her head to rest on his chest. "That was fucking amazing," she said, and then rolled onto her back beside him. Scorpius rolled to face her, wanting to pull her close and snuggle her, but she braced a hand on his chest. "No, I need space to breathe," she said softly, and although he felt a tug of sadness, he allowed her space. Hell, she was growing life, and he'd just pounded her into next week, the least he could do was give her some breathing room.

Lily told herself it was silly to feel a pang of sadness when Scorpius gave her the requested space, and forced a smile. "I think that qualifies as being more than just fucking amazing," Scorpius said huskily after a moment, and her brows lifted, mouth tilting up sleepily in a real smile.

"Oh yeah? Like how much more?"

He grinned back at her, and she felt a flutter in her belly, but not from the baby, when he grinned at her conspiratorially. "I'd go so far as to say that was the fucking best." He was tempted to add on the 'ever' that hovered at the tip of his tongue, but refrained. He'd just bloody told her he'd never even been attracted to a pregnant woman before, and yet he'd just had, by far, the best sex of his life with one.

Lily rolled to her side, and he felt a smile tugging at his mouth as she snuggled in a bit. "Agreed."

They laid together for awhile, and Lily was fairly certain she dozed off and on, but then she felt Scorpius's hand, ever so gently, smooth over her baby bump again. Lily was positive she would choke on her heart as it inflated and swelled up in her chest, eyes blurring with tears.  _You have to tell him_.

"Can I ask you something?" Scorpius murmured, absently brushing the pads of his fingers over her belly in little circles that soothed her, and made her baby wriggle.

"Sure," she murmured.

"Who is the father of your baby?" he said, and Lily pressed her lips together tightly. His hand didn't move from her belly, and she tried to avoid reading into that.

"You haven't figured it out?" she replied playfully.

Scorpius frowned. "No," he said a tad grumpily.

Her grin widened. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said dismissively. "And it doesn't matter anyway. Right?"

Scorpius frowned a bit, then moved his hand over her bump. "I just don't understand why it's a secret."

"Because it's my baby, and no one else's business," she said, and then rolled away. "I have to go to the bathroom." She rose from the bed, still naked, giving Scorpius a delicious angle for viewing her lush backside, and then walked to the bathroom. Scorpius got up and followed her, unable to let it go, because it was bothering him that Lily hadn't told  _anyone_.

"So then why does it matter who it is?" he pushed, and Lily glared at him, then pointedly closed the door in his face. He simply walked in, and she glared harder.

"Why are you so interested?" she demanded.

Scorpius frowned, because he didn't have an answer to that. "I don't know," he finally admitted, and pushed a hand through his hair. "I just really want to know." Lily smirked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said again, and that only niggled his curiosity more.

"So tell me, and we'll see," he said.

Lily laughed. "Nice try." She walked to the tub and started her shower, and Scorpius felt no qualms whatsoever as she stepped in with following. "I don't get why you care so much. It's not like you like babies anyway, right?" she said, not looking at him.

Scorpius shrugged, and the redhead peeked over her shoulder to see his reaction. "I'm not opposed to them. Honestly, I've only seen one baby in my life, and it was a mildly terrifying experience."

She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out, and reached for her shampoo. "Wow. So you have no baby experience?"

"None," he said, and glanced sidelong at her.

Lily snorted. "Then it shouldn't matter to you who the father is," she said evasively.

Scorpius frowned, then watched her lathering her hair. "But it does, and although I don't want it to, I can't help but wonder." He looked down at her bump. "It seems a little unfair your baby doesn't get a father."

Lily shot him a glare, mouth a hard line. "It's not your decision," she snapped. His blond brows lifted, and then he watched her furiously scrub the suds from her hair. "It's my decision. My baby. And he or she doesn't need a father," she said firmly, knowing it was petty and selfish, and could tell Scorpius thought so too by his lifted brow. "And I don't care what you think," she added firmly, although that was a lie. She couldn't help but want him to think she was a great mother.

"So who is it?" he pushed, and Lily bit her tongue. "There's only three reasons you're not telling me."

Lily snorted. "Oh yeah?" she asked, applying conditioner as he helped himself to her shampoo.

"You bet, darling," he said, and grinned.

"Let's hear them," she said, with narrowed eyes, feeling increasingly nettled he wouldn't leave it alone, too guilty to tell him to sod off and get out.

"One," he said, lathering his hair, and she was mildly distracted by coconut scented suds sliding down his perfect chest and stomach, "it's someone who's really close to me." Lily's mouth turned down. "I doubt it's my father," he said conversationally, and Lily giggled a tiny bit.  _Ew, no, never_. "And I can't fathom it being either of my best friends," he continued, and the redhead grimaced. Because one was her brother, and the other was a womanizer and douche bag extraordinaire. "Which leads me to the second reason."

"Go for it," she said lightly, moving toward him to grab her loofa and soap, hair secured atop her head with a chopstick. He rinsed his hair efficiently.

"The father is someone you know would offend me." Lily snorted a tiny bit, because she wouldn't hesitate to tell him, were it the truth, that someone he hated was her baby's sperm donor.

"Like who?" she asked, curious to know who he might not like.

Scorpius frowned. "Your ex, that Lorcan Scamander. Or his twin for that matter," he said darkly, and Lily's brows lifted, and she paused in her washing. "Or that idiot you dated in highschool," he said darkly, and Lily's mouth fell open. "Oliver Corner. He was a sketchy character."

The redhead couldn't help it and burst out laughing, because the thought of either of them being her baby's dad was kind of hilarious. "Uh, no, definitely not," she giggled.

Scorpius pulled a face. "I figured as much," he murmured, and she gasped as he cupped her breasts. "Which leads me to ask the impossible, and wonder if you're not telling me because it's mine."

Lily gulped guiltily, and said without missing a beat, "Why on earth would you think that?"

Scorpius looked at her seriously. "We slept together before you found out you were expecting, did we not?" he said, and she blushed a tiny bit.

"So what?"

Scorpius looked away, hands dropping from her, and she bit back a sigh. "So why can't you give me a straight answer?" he said.

Lily moved to rinse her hair, and thought about how to phrase the words she knew she'd have to speak, but hadn't thought a lick about. "I…" She took a deep breath, and looked up into expectant, dark grey eyes. "Because genetically speaking, yes, you're the father, but in no way whatsoever is this baby yours."

XXX


	5. Baby Daddy

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Five - Baby Daddy

Scorpius stared at her for long moments, stunned by what she'd just said. ' _Genetically speaking, yes, you're the father, but in no way whatsoever is this baby yours.'_  He couldn't understand the words as she'd strung them together. "What?" he asked stupidly, standing there in her shower with her while she, looking like some kind of pagan goddess of fertility, rinsed her hair.

"You got me knocked up." She cleared her throat, looking away. "And I should add that I'm actually quite thankful, because you saved me an awful lot of money on the procedure to get a donor's sperm administered."

Scorpius could only stare. "What?" he said again.

Lily glared now, and the blond was struck how very well anger suited her. "Are you deaf?" she snapped. "You're the genetic donor for my baby," she said slowly, as if speaking to someone old and hard of hearing. "When we had sex, I got pregnant."

Scorpius blinked, still barely processing what she was saying. How could that have happened? He'd wrapped it every time.  _Every single time_. How could it have happened? "When?" he demanded.

She blushed and looked away. "Um, my birthday," she murmured. Scorpius shook his head.

"I used a condom," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her. He looked at her belly and anxiety clawed up his insides. "Both times."

Lily moved out from under the hot spray of the shower and wrung her hair out, not waiting to see if he was going to finish washing up before turning off the taps. "But not that third time, in the morning."

Scorpius followed her out of the shower, and frowned as she wrapped up her mane of hair with one towel and used another to dry herself. "What?"

Lily shot him a dark look. "When you woke me up at some ungodly hour in the morning for hot, nasty, amazing sex," she said.

The blond shook his head again. "No, that can't be." He thought back, recalling a rather vivid and distinctly nasty dream involving the sexy redhead that night he'd had her on her birthday, but he always had dreams like that when he was drinking. Unless that hadn't actually been a dream, and he'd really…  _Shit_.

Lily pulled a face, but shrugged, and dropped her towel, applying lotion copiously to herself. Scorpius watched in awe, borrowing her discarded towel. "If you say so," she said in a forced bland tone and Scorpius felt his heart sink a little.

"Are you…? Am I…?" His hesitancy, and the roundness of his eyes, wide with shock, and finally, acceptance of the news, suddenly faded. "Why am I just finding this out now?" he demanded. Lily lifted her eyebrows, and her lip curled a tiny bit.

"What you should wonder is why are you finding out at all?" she snarled. "Because you were in another fucking country for the last four months, that's why. And the only reason I'm telling you is because you won't leave off bothering me about it. So if you could kindly fuck off now." She turned abruptly and stalked out of the bathroom, and Scorpius followed, brain still struggling to comprehend the feeling that he felt in his gut. That knowledge deep in his belly that Lily spoke the truth and that her baby was also his.

"No," he said without thought. "Were you going to tell me at all?" he demanded, feeling angrier by the second. How long had Lily known she was growing his baby? And had she really just planned to never tell him?!

"No!" she snapped. "It's none of your business," she said firmly.

"Bullshit," he said automatically, and she grit her teeth, knowing he had a point, refusing to concede it.

"Oh, maybe you didn't understand me," she said a tad hysterically, and pulled a t-shirt on roughly, yanking up pyjama pants as he stood there in nothing but her towel, looking more pissed than she'd ever seen him. "Let me rephrase that. You don't get to be part of my business."

"You can't deny me part of my own-" Scorpius broke off, looking at her belly again, feeling dizzy with mingled shock and confusion and anxiety.

"Sure I can. Watch me," she challenged through gritted teeth. "Please get out, now."

"Lily," Scorpius said, looking back at her hazel eyes that blazed with her temper.

"No, Scorpius," she growled, putting both hands to her baby bump, rubbing it soothingly, and the blond wondered for a terrifying second if the baby within was growing agitated with her. Surely that wasn't good, right? "No. This is  _my_  baby. I earned it, damn it. I'm not sharing, you can't have him."

Scorpius blinked. "Or her."

Lily swallowed. "Or her," she conceded, but glared at him sternly, face flushed, eyes sparkling, mouth set. She was lovelier, surely, than any other woman he'd ever seen. And now knowing she was so deliciously full and ripe and round because of him, because she was growing a part of  _him_ … He barely held back from touching her once more. And then, like a knife, severing his soft, warm thoughts, the knowledge she'd all but lied to him sliced through his consciousness.

His mouth tightened, eyes cooling as Lily looked at him. "I think you'll find I can." He turned away and moved to get dressed again. Lily followed after him after he'd donned his pants, back to her living room to get his shirt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, looking too pale. Fear made her blood run cold, because she was smart enough to know that with enough money, the right lawyers, and enough time, he could damn well take her baby from her. And she wasn't naive enough to think he wouldn't, just because she was Al's little sister, or because she truly did deserve this baby more than he ever had.

"You know what it means," he said blandly, all trace of emotion gone from his face, and voice, and eyes. His dark grey gaze pinned her, heart pounding in her chest, feeling sick, and she rubbed her bump as her baby wriggled. "It means if that's the road you want to go down, you're not going to much like me."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm already there," she said, mouth twisting.  _How dare he_! "And if we go down that road, you'd do damn well to remember without me choosing this, you'd have nothing anyway, Malfoy," she said as he put his shirt on. "I could've lied to you all along, and you wouldn't have a bloody clue." A blond brow lifted.

"Duly noted," he said crisply, and began buttoning his shirt. Lily knew he was going to walk out of her flat and her life, probably for good, and wanted to at least make him understand why she'd kept the news from him. And tell him again she would be eternally grateful if he never looked at her again, because he'd given her the one thing she'd always wanted.

"I really am thankful," she said softly, cradling her bump. "I've wanted this for a long time, and I don't expect you to understand that, but I didn't keep it from you to hurt you." She felt tears stinging her eyes and blinked. "Please, if you care even the tiniest bit, don't take this from me," she whispered.

Scorpius's face gave nothing of his thoughts away, but when he looked at her, even though she might've imagined it, his eyes softened. "Then you're welcome," he said roughly. "But if you care even the tiniest bit, you'll know I'm not going to just pretend I didn't hear what you just said, Lily," he said very seriously, looking suddenly far older. "And I can't just walk away from part of myself."

She nodded miserably. God, she'd just wanted a good time from him, how could it all have become so royally cocked up? "So where does that leave us?" she asked hesitantly, her anger having faded, leaving her hollow and guilty and feeling afraid.

"I don't know," he admitted. She saw him do up the last button and swallowed, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling a sharp kick from her baby that made her heart heavy. "I have to talk to my lawyer." Her back went rigid at that, and she felt her determination harden. He'd have her baby when Hell froze over.

"Sure," she said stiffly, through numb lips. "See you around, then."

He glanced at her one last time and then left and Lily stared at the empty space where he'd been standing, then went to get her cell, tears pooling in her eyes. She rang up Rose on autopilot.

"Weasley," her cousin said upon picking up.

"Rose," she choked, and then her words caught on a sob.

"Lily, what's wrong? Is everything okay with-?"

"The baby's fine," she said unevenly, and sniffled. "I told him." She fell apart, and the tears spilled from her eyes as she curled up on her couch, face in her knees, body wracking with sobs.

"Oh, honey," Rose sighed. "It's okay, everything's going to be just fine. What did he say?"

"He didn't believe me at first, but...but then he...he…" She couldn't say the words out loud, and dissolved into sobs again.

"Lily, sweetie," Rose soothed, "you're barely making sense. What did he say?" Lily shook her head, wiping at the tears. "Does he not want anything to do with it?" her cousin asked softly. Lily shook her head again, sniffling.

"No," she sighed. "He wants… He wants to be part of it, but Rose, this is  _my_  baby." Her cousin didn't respond immediately and Lily's eyes widened.

"Of course it's your baby, sweetie," she said, "but c'mon. Isn't it a little bit his, too?"

She wanted to pout and stomp her feet, but Lily only sighed again. "I guess," she sniffled. And then his words echoed through her mind. "Rose," she said, feeling fearful, rubbing her little bean, "he all but said he'd try to take my bean from me, though." She swallowed thickly and bit her lip. "What if he tries to take my baby?" she breathed.

"He can't," Rose said automatically, bolstering Lily's confidence. "He might be able to make you share, but he can't just take it, I'm sure of it," Rose said firmly, and Lily let out a breath, because that made her feel loads better. "What are you going to do?" Rose finally asked, and Lily sighed hugely, because she had no bloody clue. She knew what to expect while expecting, knew what was in store for her whenever labour and delivery set in, and had a damn good notion what dealing with a newborn twenty four seven would entail, but this was past her breadth of knowledge. None of the books she'd read had broached 'How to handle a baby daddy you don't want who wants to be involved'.

"I don't know," she breathed.

Rose sighed with her. "Well if you need me, honey, I'm here."

"Thanks, Rose," she breathed, and rang off after agreeing to meet her cousin for tea. Lily moved to get dressed again, feeling an odd mixture of relief, that finally she'd told Scorpius the truth, and resignation, because she'd expected him to want nothing at all to do with her or a baby, and apparently he wanted plenty to do with her. Or at least the baby. She glanced at her mussed bed and rubbed her bump as the baby within kicked. "I know, Baby," she murmured. "Mama's here, and we'll figure it out." She just had no idea how.

Scorpius pulled his car into the parking lot of his lawyer's very respectable brownstone building and went in through the back, going up to his second best friend's personal office. He'd been friends with Albus Potter since he was eleven, and friends with Christopher Pashkov since they'd all been in the ninth grade. And while Scorpius considered Albus his technical best friend, he'd always had more in common with Chris than Al. And he knew, after he told him what he'd somehow done, his friend wouldn't bullshit him about what to do. At least, not too much.

He knocked on the office door and then walked in, finding his dark haired, blue eyed friend sitting behind his desk, feet up on the polished wood, looking at something. "Fuck off, Scor, I'm busy," he said without looking up.

"How'd you know it was me?" the blond asked, sitting down across from the distinctly dark European man.

"Albus doesn't knock before he barges in, and everyone else books an appointment." Chris finally glanced up at him, and frowned. "What'd you do?" Scorpius pulled a face and Chris sighed, tossing his document aside, putting his feet down. "You've got the 'Oh shit, I'm fucked' face on, mate," he added, smirking.

"I got a woman pregnant," he said grimly, and Chris snorted, lifting his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah?" Chris said. "What do you need me for? She trying to sue you for child support or something?" he asked. "You gotta wait 'til she pops the little blighter out for a DNA test, buddy," he said dismissively.

Scorpius glared. "No," he said firmly. Lily hadn't even mentioned monetary support, and now that he thought on it, he wondered if he should offer some kind of-

"So what, then? Believe it or not, my time is worth a decent amount of money, Scorpius."

The blond flipped him off, smirking. "I want to be able to see it."

Christopher stared for a long moment, then blinked and burst out laughing. Scorpius merely stared at him levelly, not reacting, and the eastern European man stopped laughing, face sobering in shock. "You're not joking," he said.

"Why would I be joking?" he demanded. "The woman doesn't want to share the baby, but I have rights, right?"

Chris blinked, but shrugged. "Sure. As far as I know. But the courts usually still side with women in custody battles."

"I don't want custody, I just want to see it every now and then."

Chris shrugged again, and chuckled. "That's more like it. But yeah, I'm fairly certain that's a given. So long as you pay support."

"And she can't keep it from me?"

Chris shifted in his seat. "Well, until it's born, you have almost no rights, so if she wanted to disappear, there's not much you could do to stop her." Scorpius thought about that, but dismissed it instantly in his mind. Lily had far too much family and support to just disappear. "But unless you get a custody agreement, anything is fair game, really." Scorpius gulped. "Who is this bird, anyway?"

Scorpius froze, because he really didn't want to admit that it was Al's little sister. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled, slouching, and pushed a hand through his hair, feeling overwhelmed. "How do we get a custody agreement?" he said blankly.

"You have to wait for the kid to be born," he said. "And she might try to delay it by going for the paternity test." Scorpius frowned. "You sure it's yours anyway?"

Scorpius nodded. The sinking feeling in his gut had told him enough. Why else would he want everything to do with Lily while she was all full of baby, if he hadn't almost hoped, deep down, it was his anyway? "Yeah," he said lightly.

"When's it due?" Chris asked.

"December," Scorpius murmured, recalling Lily had said the twelfth of the month. His friend's dark brows shot up. "I was in the States, remember," the blond added on a sigh, and then got up. "So what now?"

Chris leaned back in his chair, looking Scorpius over. "My professional advice? Play nice with your baby mama until she has the thing, then serve her with a court order for a custody hearing. Or see if she'll agree to mediation, which would be quicker." Scorpius nodded. "Personally? Congrats, I suppose, but I don't think you're gonna hack it, buddy." Dark grey eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused," Chris said, laughing. "But c'mon, you hate kids."

"I do not," Scorpius said sharply. "They just don't like me is all. And I don't know enough of them to know how to relate to them."

"Guess you'll get a first hand lesson in about four months, then, eh?" Scorpius shot his friend a dark look, because that thought was downright terrifying, and the other man grinned. "Girl or boy?" he asked.

The tall blond got up, shaking his head. "Dunno yet. I'll keep you posted." He went to the office door, and Chris picked up his discarded document. "And do me a favour, and don't tell Al I asked you about any of this."

Dark brows lifted. "If you insist," he said, and Scorpius was glad he didn't ask. "Tell Little Potter I said congrats when you talk to her next," he added as Scorpius got to the door. He turned, mouth parted in shock, and Chris laughed. "I heard awhile back she was knocked up, and who else would it be if you didn't want me to tell Albus? That and you've had the hots for her for ages, Scor, and everyone knows it except Al. And maybe her, but maybe you've gotten the balls to let her know by now."

"Fuck you, Pashkov," he mumbled, exiting the office, hating that his friend had zeroed in on the identity of his 'baby mama' so easily. But despite the ribbing, that had been quite an informative meeting, and he at least had an idea of what he should do now. As he went back to his car, he pulled out his cell and pulled up Lily's number from his contacts. He doubted she'd want to hear from him, but there was more on the line now than just them and their egos.

_Lily, we need to talk. When is good for you? And I'm sorry about before, I acted out of line, and I hope you can forgive me._ He sent the message off, braced for the worst, but hoping for the best.

Lily was at tea when she received Scorpius's text message, and frowned at it. "What's wrong?" Rose asked, slipping back into her seat after hitting up the little girl's room at their usual cafe.

"Scorpius," she said darkly, and turned her phone so Rose could read.

"That sounds promising," her cousin said, looking hopeful. Lily grimaced.

"He's playing at something. Malfoys aren't nice for no reason. I don't trust him," she said darkly, and rubbed her belly as the baby stretched. Rose chuckled.

"You're being silly, Lily," she said lightly, sipping her coffee. "Besides, you did just kind of drop a bomb on him. Give him a chance." The redhead pulled a face.

"What should I text back?" she asked. Rose shrugged.

"Say sure. You two do need to talk, because whether you want it or not, he  _is_  that little bean's Daddy, and he deserves a chance." Lily sighed. "Oh come on," her cousin said, and threw a cookie crumb at her. "He's the baby daddy dreams are made of, honey." Hazel eyes rolled and Rose lifted a brow. "Serious. Interested in being an active role in the baby's life? Check. Capable of supporting said baby? Check and check. Really good looking and, according to your blush, good even still in bed? Triple check, honey."

"Rose," Lily hissed, cheeks indeed a pretty dark red, because she'd already admitted to Rose they'd had achingly good sex before she'd dropped the news of impending quasi-fatherhood on him. The auburn haired woman merely laughed.

"What?" her cousin said. "I'd settle for the last one in a guy, personally."

"You're twisted," Lily sighed. "This is a nightmare." She frowned, because this whole childbearing experience wasn't going at all to plan, and Lily liked things that went according to plan. But she texted Malfoy back after they paid their bill and got ready to head out.

_Apology accepted. And you're right, we do need to talk. Meet me at the Gilded Iris at seven tonight._  She reckoned at least if she was at her favourite restaurant, she'd be less likely to fly off the handle. Food always calmed her down lately.

"So?" Rose asked as they pushed out into the sunshine.

"I'm going to meet him tonight to talk," she said as they got into Rose's Jeep and buckled up, Scorpius's response buzzing in moments later.  _Sounds good_.

"Just make sure you two actually talk this time, hmm?" her cousin teased and Lily shot her a dirty look, because that was the  _last_ thing on her mind. Especially after that morning. Whatever relationship they were going to have could only be complicated by sex, Lily decided, and no matter what it took, she vowed she would resist him. Even if all the pregnancy hormones in the world betrayed her.

At seven that night, she met up with Scorpius at her favourite restaurant, and despite being a bit early, was surprised to find him already there, seated at a table. She couldn't help the nervous smile as she walked toward him in the decidedly casual restaurant, feeling as fancy as she got in a loose, flowy tank top that was becoming snug around her midsection and her latest pregnancy purchase, a pair of jeans with elastic waist that went right up and over her bump. And, even though she tried not to notice it, Scorpius looked  _good_  in his casual navy Calvin Klein suit, light grey shirt unbuttoned at his throat and sans tie. "Hello," she said politely, and slid into the seat across as he stood up automatically and then sat back down.

"Hi," he murmured, eyes roving over her, and Lily told herself not to blush, to little avail. "Thanks for meeting me," he said in a low voice that raked pleasurably over Lily's ears, and she swallowed, trying to ignore the animal magnetism he possessed that made some part of her mad with wanting.

"No worries," she said softly. She had to stay on his good side, if only to keep him from trying to take her to court or some such. The redhead pushed her hair behind her shoulders. "So you're right. We need to talk."

"Indeed," he said, and forced himself, through sheer willpower, not to look at her breasts as she leaned forward. "I think that shock got the better of me last time," he said in a carefully modulated voice, "but I'd like to tell you I have every intention of being present in the child's life."

Lily lifted a brow, striving to remain calm and not get defensive. "I can appreciate where you're coming from," she said politely, "but I'd like to assert that your involvement is a courtesy I extended to you on the understanding I'm still the primary caregiver, and this is still  _my_  baby."

The blond looked at her as if trying to discern her thoughts for a beat, then smiled charmingly. "Understood," he said. "And I certainly think you'll be the best person to be the primary caregiver. But you do realize, in this case, it's still, however slightly, also mine. Right?"

Her mouth went very thin, but Lily took a deep breath, and nodded. "Very slightly," she conceded. Scorpius nodded.

"I can live with that." Lily picked up her menu in the same moment he picked up his and she tried to suppress the smile. They'd just had a mostly normal conversation that hadn't included any arguing or bickering, and hadn't wound up with them naked and having mind blowing good sex.  _Success_!

They ordered, her the chicken and potatoes and a salad on the side, with a slice of chocolate cake for dessert, him the steak and fries. They passed the time while they waited for food talking about his time away and how her pregnancy had been thus far, and when the food did arrive, Lily tucked in hungrily.

"So I have to ask," Scorpius said as she shovelled in salad, and she glanced up briefly, "do you eat, like, a lot?"

The redhead frowned, then told herself he probably wasn't trying to be rude on purpose. "Pretty much," she said, and crammed more salad in. "I'm hungry all the time. Which is a nice change after three months of feeling sick for the most part."

Scorpius tilted his head as he munched a chip thoughtfully. "Do you crave anything in particular?" he asked. Lily shrugged, chewed and swallowed. She might be an eating machine, but she had manners after all.

"Not really. I mean, I'm always in the mood for chocolate, but I've sort of always been that way." He smiled and she smiled back, then ate some potatoes and groaned a little, because they were  _amazing_. "Wow, these are good," she said, mouth full and not caring. She took a deep breath, swallowed, took a drink, and went back for more.

Scorpius found himself watching her as she ate with gusto, waving her fork as she rambled about the delectable quality of the food, occasionally rubbing her belly, and told himself he wasn't turned on. Even though he was. The sounds she made were enough to have his mind straying to sex, but seeing her eyelids flutter when she took a bite of chicken, and watching her chest heaving in delight was too much to bear.

"When do you find out the gender?" he asked, trying to ask every question that came to mind, already baffled and amazed by pregnancy thus far. And while he didn't miss the thought of seeing Lily barfing every few hours for three months, he felt a distinct wave of sorrow that he'd already missed so bloody much.

"I find out on the twenty sixth," she said, devouring the last roasted potato and bite of chicken and sighing. "Hopefully, anyway."

"Will you tell me what the verdict ends up being?" he asked.

Lily frowned, looking at his fries, and shrugged, looking back at him. "Of course. I'm not an ogre."

He grinned. "I reckon the average ogre eats less," he teased and she rolled her eyes, then reached out and nicked a couple chips from his plate.

"These need more salt," she declared, and nicked another one. "And probably," she said with a grin. He slid his plate closer to her and she picked up the salt shaker, dispensing some on half his remaining chips. "Did you want to come to my ultrasound?" she asked, and then paused, french fry halfway to her mouth, eyes wide, as though she hadn't meant to say it.

Scorpius grinned. "Yes," he said honestly.

Lily put the chip in her mouth and chewed mechanically.  _Why did you ask him to come_!? She licked her lips and looked at the fries again. "Um, Rose will be there, too," she said. "It's at nine thirty, at the Simmons Medical Center."

Scorpius nodded. "I'll be there," he said, and Lily hoped to God he would be, because if he did a no show, she'd probably cut him out from then on. And then she wondered at her own thoughts, because surely she didn't  _want_  Malfoy to be a good parent figure, right? It would be so much easier if he was awful, and couldn't interfere in her and her baby's lives, right?  _Of course_!

XXX


	6. The Unthinkable

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Six - The Unthinkable

Lily woke up the morning of the twenty sixth feeling equally nervous and excited. She slapped her alarm quiet, rolled out of bed, and shuffled to the bathroom. After using the loo, she stepped into the shower, and sang to herself and the radio she blared as she washed up. But despite her upbeat singing, Lily felt nervous that Scorpius wouldn't show up. The redhead didn't know how she'd feel if he didn't.

Over the last couple weeks, he'd been downright charming in his attentiveness to the life growing within her he'd helped create. They'd texted during the day, while he was at work, talking about the baby, or their days, and slowly, Lily had fallen into an easy camaraderie with him. It was easy to message him randomly, just to tell him the baby had kicked her particularly hard, or that she was having horrific heartburn the few days it had flared up after she'd had Mexican food. And it was also too easy to laugh at his so not funny jokes, or smile when she heard about funny stories he shared from his office.

They'd also gotten together a couple more times, just to talk, and usually, for Lily anyway, to eat. She felt unreasonably touched the second time, when upon being informed the shop was out of triple chocolate explosion ice cream, Scorpius had all but demanded some be found. And, as it happened, it had been, by the owner of the establishment himself, from his own personal ice cream stash.

After her shower, Lily moisturized and frowned at the little hints of stretch marks across the front of her belly. "You're getting awfully big in there baby bean," she murmured, and smiled as her baby kicked. She couldn't wait to find out if her bean was a boy or girl, and felt her face aching from her smile as she got dressed and her favourite song came on the radio.

There was a knock on her apartment door as she was halfway through dressing and Lily, smiling still, hollered at Rose to come in. In only her jean shorts and bra, dancing, she glanced up and saw, not Rose standing in her bedroom doorway, but Scorpius. Her mouth parted in surprise and she literally gasped, moving to cover her breasts automatically.

His mouth twitched a little into a smile. "I've seen them before, darling," he said playfully. "I came to see if you needed a drive to the appointment."

Lily felt a burst of elation at that. "Well, Rose was going to drive me, but I can text her to just meet us there," she said, and moved to her dresser, pulling out a snug, stretchy black t-shirt that her belly was surely going to stretch permanently out of shape.

Scorpius tried not to ogle her, but it was fucking impossible. She was all luscious curves and sexy, full roundness, her belly bigger since he'd last seen it, he was certain, and her breasts growing right along with it. She bent to grab her cellphone from her purse on the bed, pausing to dance to the music she had blaring from the bathroom, shaking her pert, full ass and swaying her hips temptingly to the pop tune. He told himself firmly she was off limits. Hell, she'd all but told him she wanted nothing more to do with him sexually, and he'd been a perfect gentleman thus far. But God fucking damn it, Scorpius couldn't deny, he  _wanted_  her.

Lily finally stood up and texted her cousin, then turned and smiled radiantly at him, hair still damp and curling in the humidity, looking downright delectable. Instead of asking if she wanted to get naked, he said, "Just about ready to go?"

"Oh, not yet," she said, laughing. "Look at me, I have like no makeup on, my hair is a total mess, and I have no shoes." She shook her head at him, smirking condescendingly. "So much to learn."

He watched her go back into the bathroom and sighed, glancing at his watch, and sat down on her couch, getting comfortable. To his surprise, only twenty minutes later, she came out, looking like… Well, if he was being honest, she looked like a fucking dream come true, and a million fucking bucks. "Wow," he said, a little dumbfounded honestly, and she grinned, positively glowing.

"Thanks," she said, and blushed a bit, but grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and said, "Ready."

"That was fast," he said. She giggled a bit.

"You have a lot of experience waiting on women to get ready?" she teased.

Scorpius shrugged. "My first memory is of sitting beside my mother on her vanity seat, waiting for her to finish her makeup, and it took  _forever_."

Lily laughed and shook her head. "And how old were you?"

The tall blond shrugged. "Three maybe?"

"Mmm," Lily said, brows lifting knowledgeably. "That's probably why it felt like forever."

Scorpius shook his head. "No, it just took forever."

They got into his car and Lily felt a kind of contentedness settling over her. She was going to find out the gender of her baby, and Scorpius was beside her, driving his very nice, if entirely impractical sports car, and the sun was shining. What else could she hope for?

Rose was already there, waiting in the parking lot for them, leaning against her car, and Scorpius pulled in next to her so that Lily got out and hugged her cousin first thing. "Um, so this is new," Rose said with a significant brow lift, but then Scorpius was out of the car, and Lily merely smiled.

"I'm excited," she said, and went in, giving her name to the receptionist and going to sit and wait impatiently. She chewed her lower lip, trying not to hope the technician would tell her that her little baby bean was a boy, with little success.

"Is it bad I've got my fingers crossed it's a boy?" Rose whispered to her. Lily smiled in relief.

"If it is, we're both screwed," she murmured, and then glanced to her other side at Scorpius. To her surprise, he looked nervous. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. He nodded, and glanced at her, smiling a tiny bit. "What are you hoping for?" she asked.

Scorpius considered it for a long moment, then said, softly, "I don't know. Just that everything is...okay." He swallowed and looked away and Lily felt her heart lurch in her chest. She told herself not to read into it, she couldn't trust him, she  _couldn't_. She was just hopped up on baby hormones and the excitement of finding out gender, and still half holding the silly notion, deep down, that they'd wind up together, with their little bean, although she knew it was foolish.

"Yeah," she said, and against her better judgement, reached out and grasped his much larger hand in her smaller, paler one. "I always hope for that," she added softly, and just as she made to pull her hand away, he turned his and grasped hers.

"Thanks," he said, and she bit her lip at the vulnerability in his dark grey eyes for a beat.

"Lily Potter!" the nurse called, and Lily got up, her little entourage following. "You can only have one other person," the woman said.

The redhead glanced at Rose and opened her mouth to say she would join her, but then Rose said, loudly, "Oh, I can wait out here, then." Lily shot her cousin a look, but she and Scorpius went into the room, and Lily smiled at the tech, a white haired asian guy with a soft, peaceful smile. He could've been anywhere from fifty to a thousand.

"Hello. Please make yourself comfortable," he said. Lily did on the paper lined bed thing, and lifted her shirt, exposing her belly. The guy took a thing on a cord and put some gel goop on Lily's belly, then put the thing on it, and clicked some buttons on his computer thing that displayed the fetus. Lily smiled at the loud, even heartbeat, pumping out it's soothing rhythm, and sighed contentedly. Then she glanced at Scorpius and saw he was stony faced, completely devoid of emotion as he listened to her baby's heartbeat, eyes fixed on the viewing screen. "Alright, let's have a look," the guy said, smiling, and moved the wand thing, put some more goop on Lily, and began taking pictures and measurements. "This is the heart," he said. "Good strong beat." He took some pictures and measurements. "The brain. The lungs," he continued, and Lily watched raptly.

She wanted to look at Scorpius again, but her bean had captured her focus, and she wanted to absorb every moment of seeing him, or her. "When do we find out the gender?" she asked eagerly. The tech chuckled.

"Well, let's see." He moved the wand and chuckled again. "Oh, your baby is camera shy," he teased, and Lily watched a fuzzy fetus on the screen rolling and crossing it's legs chastely. "Hmm, let's try this," the tech said, and tried a different angle, but the baby rolled over, away from the tech.

Lily frowned. "Is he doing that on purpose?"

"Or she," Scorpius breathed, because he'd suddenly decided, as he stood there staring at a tiny life growing inside a woman he'd only ever considered lust for, he wanted a daughter. A Littler Lily to have for always, even if he could never have her mother.

Lily looked up at him and frowned. "Or she," she conceded again. "Can you find out?"

The tech shrugged. "Some babies don't like to let their parents know. And even when they do, it's not one hundred percent accurate," he advised lightly. Lily frowned deeper.

"Can you try one last time?" Lily asked, and the tech moved the wand thing again, looking to see the right part of her baby, but the fetus wriggled, kicked out, making Scorpius smirk, and flipped upside down.

"Ah, there's almost no chance now," the tech sighed, and chuckled. "Your baby is very stubborn."

Lily sighed, but the ultrasound continued until all the measurements were made, and then the tech left them for Lily to get cleaned up. "Do you want me to-?" Scorpius asked softly in the dim room, holding the pictures of the baby they'd gotten printed, as Lily wiped goop off her belly.

"It's fine," the redhead said, and smiled, rubbing her bump. "The baby's really active," she said.

Scorpius glanced away, then at her belly. "Can I feel it?" he asked hesitantly.

Lily licked her lips and forced a shrug, then grimaced at a hard kick that made Scorpius's eyes widen. "Sure," she breathed, and he moved toward her, then smoothed his warm, large hand over her baby bump. The baby gave a couple test kicks against the hand, then flipped again, pressing up against the warmth.

"Wow," Scorpius breathed softly, and Lily looked up as he clenched his eyes shut, and she wondered if it was against tears. "Sorry," he said gruffly, and moved his hand away, even though Lily wanted him to keep it there. "This is still new for me," he rumbled.

"Sure," she said with understanding, because she had the benefit of growing it, and feeling it all, all the time. He didn't. "I mean, I get it, sort of, but you can feel the baby if you want to," she said softly, and smiled a little shyly. "I get it all the time, and I can share," she said, trying to extend an olive branch.

"Thank you," he said with feeling, and she smiled wider as his hands smoothed over her belly again, trying to remain strictly platonic. Scorpius couldn't help, though, the possessive curve his palm made around the smooth, round bulge, or the smile of satisfaction feeling his seed brought to fruition, almost, brought to his mouth.

They finally headed out of the little room, and Rose beamed. "So?" she asked eagerly, and Lily grimaced.

"Typical Weasley, too stubborn to let us find out," she sighed, Scorpius smiled a tiny bit. Because he had a feeling, deep down, it was a girl.

Rose's mouth fell open in shock. "Oh god,  _no_! So not fair! How soon can you get another ultrasound to find out?"

Lily grimaced. "Probably not for another month at least," she sighed. Rose's mouth went wider.

"That's too late!" she snapped, and shook her finger at Lily's bump. "You're being stubborn, mister!" The redhead rolled hazel eyes.

"He can't hear you, or understand," she sighed, "but even if he does, he probably doesn't care," she added playfully, and laughed as Rose pouted.

"She," Scorpius said softly, and Lily shot him an annoyed look.

"So you're hoping for a girl?" she asked a little aggressively.

Scorpius merely shrugged. "I don't have to hope. It's going to be a girl."

Rose shot him a dark look. "No. Definitely a boy." She pointed to Lily's belly. "She's all out front, like you carry a boy. Not all over the place like a girl."

Scorpius privately disagreed, because the baby was making Lily extra voluptuous  _everywhere_  in his opinion, and he couldn't seem to stop noticing it, but shrugged equably. "We'll see."

"We will. Next time we'll be bound to find out if my bean's a boy or girl," Lily said happily, and sighed. "I'm hungry."

"Then I think it's high time for brunch," Rose said, smirking at her cousin, and then cut her eyes to Scorpius and grinned broadly. "And since you're back from wherever, you can have some turns driving the preggo around. Follow the yellow Jeep," she said, and turned and walked out of the clinic before Lily could do more than open her mouth and Scorpius could even react.

"I'm sorry," Lily said automatically, blushing, feeling beyond embarrassed as she headed out of the clinic in Rose's wake with Scorpius. "Don't feel like you have to accept. Or drive me. Rose is just being-" Lily broke off, because she didn't want to say out loud what Rose was being.

The blond pushed a hand through his hair, and if Lily didn't know better, she would've thought he was nervous or something. But that was silly. With babies? Sure, that was to be expected for Scorpius, she supposed. After all, he had literally almost no baby experience, and now he'd fathered one. When it came to dining with women, Lily didn't think he had much to be nervous about, because she was fairly positive he had lots of experience with that. "If you don't mind, I could use food." He grinned, looking mouth watering as always, and she couldn't help the blush as his eyes did the slow rove over her. "Shall we?" he asked after a beat, offering an arm graciously to exit the building into the heat of summer beyond the bliss of air conditioning, and the redhead laughed.

"Sure," she said lightly, and took his arm, not that she much needed it, with a smile. Rose, who was watching out of her rearview mirror, grinned a little, picked up her cell phone, and punched in a number from memory.

"Potter," Albus Potter said blandly.

"I can't keep it in anymore, I'm going to implode, and you're the only person I can think to tell, and please don't flip."

"What? Rose?" Albus asked, sounding confused. "What are you talking about? Shit, please don't be calling to tell me you're knocked up, too."

Rose burst out laughing. "No. I haven't gotten to the act of doing it to be pregnant in a long while." She could feel her cousin cringe. "This is about Lily being knocked up." There was silence from the other end. "Shall I go on, Al?"

"Yeah," he said. "You know who the father is, don't you?" Albus asked.

"Yup," Rose said, and giggled uncontrollably. "Do you know?"

"I have my suspicions," Albus said darkly.

"You have to swear on your mother and Lily's lives not to tell another soul, living or dead."

"Who is it, Rose?" Albus demanded.

The auburn haired woman took a breath. "It's your best mate." Scorpius and Lily were almost to his car, and Rose started up her Jeep. "I have to go, but seriously, you better get okay with it if you're not, cousin, because they're bloody fucking adorable together." She hung up abruptly on Albus before he could react, and waved to Lily through her window, then backed out of her parking space and headed to Lily's favourite diner.

Scorpius looked after the yellow Jeep, mouth parting. "I hope you know where she's going," he murmured, glancing down at the redhead beside him.

Lily shrugged, and stood by the passenger door to his car. "I assume she's going where I'm going, and there's only one place I'm going," she said.

"And where's that?" Scorpius asked.

"Archie's Diner, on Seventeenth." Scorpius grinned.

"I love that place. Great pancakes," he murmured. Lily's face softened into that utterly radiant, goddess-like smile.

"I love Archie's pancakes," she said a little breathily, though the blond wasn't sure if that was simply food lust or some emotional response to the both of them liking pancakes.

For Lily it was a bit of both, although she didn't fully understand  _why_  she was so touched to find out they liked the same pancake house. But she got into Scorpius's car and did up her seat belt, and he joined her in the car, and drove them to brunch, unable to stop smiling. Rose's yellow Jeep was parked out front when they arrived, and Lily wasn't shocked to find her cousin in the second last booth on the right. "Hey," she said, sliding in across from the auburn haired woman, and gulping a little as Scorpius slid in next to her. Rose grinned.

"Hi." The redhead narrowed her eyes a tiny bit as her cousin kept beaming, looking suspicious, and for a second, Lily wondered if Rose was plotting something. "So, Scorpius," Rose said, looking at the tall blond, who barely held in a grimace, "I haven't seen you in ages. How's things? How was America?"

Lily tried not to feel nettled, and sat back, wondering what Rose was playing at, being so very  _friendly_  with Scorpius. "Same old same. Working too much, avoiding my parents and their attempts to socialize with me, and the States was alright, but it's always better to be home."

Rose leaned forward, smiling at Scorpius. "Sounds awful boring. Don't you think you could use some fun in your life, Malfoy?" she asked.

The redhead rubbed her belly thoughtfully, more out of habit than anything, wondering if Rose was really hitting on her baby daddy. Because while Lily could kind of get that Rose wanted some ultra fucking great, sweaty sex with the mouth watering blond, she still felt nettled by the notion. She had no claim on him whatsoever, but Lily couldn't help but reject the thought of Scorpius being with someone else. Especially if said someone was Rose. Although, as she thought about it, Lily had to concede that wouldn't be the worst possible outcome, out of all the available choices for Scorpius. And Lily reminded herself sternly he was free to make those choices, because they had nothing together other than her baby, even though part of her wanted to pout.

"Now you sound like Chris," Scorpius said dismissively, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Tell that tosser next time you see him he owes me dinner," the blue eyed woman said, and grinned.

Scorpius smiled back, and Lily was relieved when the waitress appeared. It wouldn't be the worst outcome if Rose and Scorpius hooked up, but that didn't mean Lily wanted to watch it happen. "Ready to order, love?" the young woman asked, eyeing up Scorpius like the redhead eyed up bakery displays.

"I am," Lily said firmly, even though she hadn't glanced at the menu. "Orange juice, a stack of blueberry pancakes, and bacon on the side, not too crispy, please." The blonde waitress grudgingly jotted down Lily's order then smiled at Scorpius again, showing all her pearly whites and the gum jammed in her back teeth.

"I'll get the vegetarian omelet, extra peppers and extra cheese, with wheat toast, dry, and a coffee." The waitress shot Rose a quelling look but jotted her order.

"And?" the waitress asked, looking back at Scorpius, grinning again for him.

"Coffee, chocolate chip pancakes, and bacon. The crispier the better. That's all, thanks." Lily couldn't help it, her nose wrinkled with disgust at the thought of crispy, hard, crumbly bacon, even as the waitress slunk away. Rose smirked at her expression, and Scorpius said, looking amused when the redhead glanced at him, "What?"

"Sorry, but that's disgusting." Blond brows lifted and Scorpius chuckled softly, making the redhead grin.

"Says the one eating blueberries in her pancakes. Gross."

Lily scoffed. "Blueberries are amazing for you, y'know. Full of antioxidants."

"So is chocolate," he shot back, and she rolled her eyes.

"Not even close," Lily said. "Besides, chocolate chips in pancakes is just a waste of good chocolate chips and pancake batter anyway."

Scorpius scoffed dismissively. "I'm going to assume that's the hormones talking," he said with amazing nonchalance, "and not take it personally."

"Not quite," Lily said. "I've always considered chocolate chip pancakes to be inferior."

"Then you're awfully close minded," Scorpius shot back. "It's chocolate chips, for breakfast, drowning in maple syrup. I'd have thought you'd be all for that."

Lily rolled her eyes. "No. Chocolate for breakfast is a beautiful idea, but largely impractical." Her baby kicked. "Unless it's Nutella."

Scorpius wrinkled his nose. "You're a heathen. Mushy, exploding fruit doesn't even come close to the delicious nature of warm, melted chocolate in pancakes. And Nutella is disgusting."

The waitress came back with their beverages and Lily shrugged. "Whatever, Malfoy," she murmured. "You enjoy your burnt chocolate."

He grinned at her over the rim of his coffee cup. "And you enjoy your mushy fruit."

When the food finally did arrive, Lily dug into her pancakes with gusto, after drowning them in syrup, and Scorpius neatly cut his and then drizzled syrup over the pieces. And despite her earlier sentiments, the redhead had to admit, they did smell awfully good.

She ate steadily, talking with Rose about the vague plans for her upcoming baby shower, finally admitting to her cousin she'd already promised her mother and Priscilla they could plan it. "That's fine," Rose said easily. "It's going to be a huge job, so I'll be glad for the help."

Lily cleared her plate in record time, and tried to ignore how good Scorpius's pancakes still smelled. All warm, buttery pancakes and melted chocolate, and really, what had she been thinking? Chocolate chips in pancakes sounded like a marvellous idea, and there didn't appear to be a trace of burnt chocolate anywhere. "You're staring at my pancakes," Scorpius said softly, and slid his plate toward her.

"Oh no, I don't want them," she said, although it was a lie. She licked her lips just thinking about how good they'd taste.

"Go on," he said. "My eyes are bigger than my stomach anyway." He smirked a little as she picked up her discarded fork and began eating, a tiny sigh of contentment easing out from between her lips. "Good?" he murmured.

"Uh huh," she groaned, mouth full, and smiled. "I may have jumped the gun concerning these pancakes," she said lightly, and forked in another bite. Scorpius picked up his last piece of bacon and crunched it, making Lily frown as she swallowed. "But you're still disgusting for eating crispy bacon."

The bill came after the plates were cleared away, and Lily finished her second orange juice. "I'll be right back, I just have to run to the loo," the redhead said, sliding out from the booth gracefully after Scorpius got up. He watched her go, feeling a distinct sense of contentment as he watched her disappear. All in all, it was a pretty great morning, he reckoned. He'd seen his baby, and Lily's breasts barely contained by see through lace, and then topped it off by watching her eat one of his favourite foods with relish. What could possibly be better?

"Does she know?" Rose asked suddenly. Dark grey eyes snapped back to Rose's blue ones as he sat down.

"Does who know what?" he asked.

"Lily," the auburn haired woman said, sitting back. "Does she know you fancy her?"

Scorpius pulled a face. "No," he said roughly, "because I don't."

Rose's brows lifted. "Really?" she drawled. "Because it seems like you fancy her. You let her eat half your breakfast."

Scorpius frowned. "So?" he said defensively. "She's growing a baby, she needs to eat." And he couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy seeing her eat nowadays, with her lust for all things food.

Rose snorted. "I remember in highschool, when Chris was trying to bulk up enough to get into the next weight class for wrestling, you stabbed him with your fork when he tried to eat your pancakes."

Scorpius scowled. "First off, that was in senior year. I did lots of things then that I don't do now. Second of all, Chris wasn't growing my baby. And third," he said, when Rose didn't look convinced, "it doesn't matter whether I fancy her or not, because she's not interested." Not wanting to continue the conversation, Scorpius picked up the bill, and pulled out his wallet. "Cough up, Weasley," he said. "Your portion is eight pounds."

Rose rolled blue eyes but handed the blond some money, feeling smug as he put the rest of the money in the little black book thing and closed it. "You might be surprised, Malfoy," she said lightly as Lily came back from the loo. Rose moved forward and hugged her cousin, patting her bump lovingly. "I gotta jet, I have meetings all afternoon. Give me a call tomorrow and we'll do tea." She glanced at Malfoy and then moved to hug him too. "You owe me, jerk," she said, and headed out. Lily reached for her bag and dug for her wallet.

"What's the damage?" she asked, gesturing with her chin at the bill.

"Nothing," Scorpius said easily. "Rose paid." Lily frowned and sighed dramatically.

"That woman, she's angling hard to be godmother," she said cheekily.

Scorpius smiled. "Ready to go?" he asked lightly.

"Yeah," Lily said. They headed out, got into his car, and Scorpius drove her back to her apartment. They were halfway down the street when they saw the fire trucks and police cars and heard the sirens. Lily felt her heart thud painfully in her chest, panic spiking, and anxiety skyrocketing, even as her stomach dropped. They drove as close as possible, and then a police officer stopped them. "Sorry, road's closed," he said grimly.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked. The cop shrugged.

"That little three story building caught on fire. They're still trying to contain it. You can turn round and go back on Division," the cop said, pointing and gesturing.

Lily, who felt as if she was dreaming, undid her seatbelt. "Lily," Scorpius said as she got out of the car, mouth parted in shock as she saw flames licking up the side of her building.

"I have to get stuff," she said stupidly, and started forward, but the cop held her back. She glared at him. "Excuse me, I live there," she said, pointing.

The cop shrugged. "Sorry, ma'am, no one's allowed past this point. It's not safe."

Just then there was the sound of shattering glass and flames belched out of a busted window. Lily flinched, and stepped back into Scorpius. "This isn't happening," she breathed.

"C'mon, let's go somewhere-"

"I don't have anywhere else to go. I have to get my work, and my stuff, and I was supposed to water Mrs. Dumbarton's flowers!" Lily said, eyes going wide. She'd told her neighbour, who was on vacation, she'd look after her balcony flowers.

"If you live on the back side, you don't have much left to go back to, love," the cop said grimly.

Scorpius shot him a dark look. What sort of dolt told a pregnant woman such a thing!? He tried to recall where Lily's apartment was, but wasn't sure.

"No, I'm on the street side," Lily said, staring up at the building. She watched a fire hose spraying water at her balcony. "There," she breathed.

"C'mon," Scorpius said again, turning the redhead around by the shoulders. "We'll come back later," he said. Lily, to his surprise, nodded vaguely.

"Sure," she said. Once she was back in the car, Scorpius worried she might be going to shock, because she seemed awfully pale, and was awfully quiet. Just when he thought he should swing by the hospital, just in case, Lily looked up at him, eyes wide, mouth parted. "Oh no," she said, looking terrified. Scorpius gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"What?" he asked. "Is it-?"

"No," she said, rubbing her bump. "Baby's fine. But all the stuff is there."

The blond released his breath. "What d'you mean?" She sucked in a shallow breath, then another right after it.

"All the stuff for the baby, it was in my flat, and now it's probably burnt to a fucking crisp, and I only have four months to go. I only have four months to replace it all, and I have to redo my entire budget, and I'll never find that pram again, and oh my fucking  _God_ ,  _I only have four months_!" He could see her starting to panic and pulled over.

"Breathe," he said softly.

She shook her head, looking like she was either going to start shouting or possibly throw up. "You don't get it," she breathed. "You don't get it! I scrimped and saved and did a ton of research, and I got the  _perfect_  pram and the  _perfect_  cot, and it took  _weeks_  to get them, and poof, it's all fucking gone now! God, what am I going to do!?" She pulled her phone out of her bag, hands shaking. And then her eyes went impossibly wider. "Oh God, how long is it going to be before I can get back in? Do you think it'll be long? I don't want to have to stay with my parents! Here I am worrying about stupid shit, and I don't even know where I'm going to  _sleep_!" she said, very fast, and Scorpius was barely able to process the words coming out of her mouth, let alone think about formulating a response to them. She glared at him. "Why aren't you saying anything?" she demanded.

"Uh," Scorpius said blankly, but then her expression turned positively arctic.

"Of course, silly me, it doesn't really matter to you. Thanks for the drive," she said flatly, and undid her belt with one hand as the other opened the car door.

"No," he said, and reached for her wrist as she put a foot out. "Wait."

"What?" she snapped furiously. "I have to go sort out my fucking life and try not to have a nervous breakdown, Scorpius, what do you want?" she asked, angry facade wobbling a bit near the end.

"Stop being dramatic," he said. "You can call your landlord and find out what the fire marshall says about going back tomorrow, and in the meantime, you can stay with me."

Lily snorted. "Yeah fucking right." He lifted a blond eyebrow.

"Then would you like me to drop you off with your parents?" he asked. Lily bit her lip, hating him. Because she could stay with James and Priscilla, sure, but she didn't fancy trying to sleep, or work, with Liam and Viola running about. And she could ask Al, but even if he said yes, she didn't much want to see him bringing home random women every night, and she doubted any of said women would much want to see a pregnant lady when they went home with random guys. Which left Rose, but Lily knew her cousin didn't really have room, and Lily couldn't bring herself to ask her. Which really left her parents. They had the room, and the quiet, and Lily knew the cooking and eating would be top notch, but they would undoubtedly baby her. And she was a thirty year old woman, expecting her own baby soon. The last thing she needed was her mum doing her laundry again.

"I don't want to stay with you," she said firmly, and told herself nothing was going to happen.

Dark grey eyes rolled as she put her foot back in and closed the car door anyway. "Would you rather got to a hotel?" he pushed.

That was tempting, but she didn't have unlimited cash to just spend like that. Especially not if she was looking at replacing her baby purchases thus far, none of which had come cheap. "I don't even have a change of clothes," she mumbled, but did up her belt.

"I'm sure I can find you something," he murmured. "So?"

Lily sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Fine," she mumbled. "I'll stay at your place. But just for tonight." He merged back into traffic and they continued on their way, and then Lily mumbled, "Take me to the mall, I guess. I have to buy a toothbrush and at least some clean underwear."

Scorpius bit back the automatic response that underwear wasn't strictly necessary at his flat. Now wasn't the time for joking.  _And she's not interested_. "I'm sure you'll be back in your place in no time," he murmured instead, and watched her sigh, determined that even if she stayed longer than the one night, he'd be able to keep his distance. And that come Hell or high water, if she'd lost all her cherished baby things, he'd replace them.

The next day, after a long night spent tossing and turning in Scorpius's guest room, Lily called her landlord and got bad news. It would be at least another two days before she could go back to her flat and try to salvage her belongings, and at minimum a couple weeks until she could even think of living there again. If not closer to a month. Her unit had been spared any fire damage, which she was grateful for, but only because the fire department had thoroughly soaked the entire place with water, probably ruining everything.

She told Scorpius the news and he, very graciously, offered to let her stay until her flat was back to being habitable, and although she didn't much want to, Lily couldn't see what other options she had other than her parents. So she accepted, after telling him flat out they'd be roommates and nothing more. He'd merely smiled, given her a set of keys, and told her the code to set his alarm.

XXX


	7. Summer Nights

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Seven - Summer Nights

The days slowly came and went, melting into weeks, and Lily settled into a relatively normal routine as one last blast of summer swept the country, hot and oppressive, and her belly grew ever larger. And, despite the distinctly awkward turn her life had taken, Lily was pretty content. She'd never, ever, in a million years, thought she'd wind up living with Scorpius Malfoy, in his very posh flat. But, she had to admit, it was definitely an upgrade from her water damaged place, even if it hadn't suffered the severe water damage. Lily was almost positive he had an infinite supply of hot water, his view was  _amazing_ , and his flat was so very quiet, she found it unbearably easy to work in. And she had to admit, having someone who drove almost at her disposal was a luxury she could definitely get used to, even if she still insisted on doing her own laundry, despite Scorpius employing a maid.

The only possible downside Lily could think, was that she still, despite him being gone the majority of the time, and sleeping most of the rest, interacted with Scorpius on a domestic, almost intimate, sort of level daily. Usually at dinner time. Which wasn't so bad, she supposed, sharing a meal with him, talking about their days, except the only thing she could think about, for the most part, was how fucking good he looked to her sex-starved brain.

Almost on cue and every day, when he came home at the end of his work day, for the entire two weeks she'd been staying with him, Lily was seized by the very worst sort of hot, bothered arousal that she knew stemmed from her primal, physical attraction to Scorpius. And the memory of him in bed. But no matter how much she repressed it, and ignored it, it bubbled and burned, and she couldn't even sleep unless she gave in and pleasured herself in a poor imitation of her desires. And the very worst part of it was Scorpius, as ever, was a perfect gentleman. Never a wandering hand or move to make their tentative almost-relationship something real, and not even a conversational double entendre, though she did catch the occasional ogle at her breasts.

It was so utterly frustrating, because all Lily wanted was a good long shag so she could sleep properly, because she was losing the battle most days against napping after lunch. And Scorpius was either thicker than any man she knew, or his determination was just far better than hers, because she'd been dropping hints like mad, trying to get him to take advantage of her. But nothing seemed to be working.

She heard the sound of a key in the lock as she stood at the stove in his very modern kitchen, making boxed macaroni and cheese, and felt a hot gush of liquid arousal coursing from her breasts, down her belly, and between her legs. Her breathing hitched a little when the door opened, and she forced a smile when he came into the kitchen, setting down his briefcase and laptop bag on the breakfast bar and loosening his tie. "Hey," she said lightly, swallowing past the urge to turn to him, pull him down by the tie, and snog him senseless right there. Because in his crisp white shirt and flawless charcoal Armani, he looked like a goddamn sex god.

"Hi," he said in his very pleasant, deep voice. "What are you making?"

"Macaroni and cheese," she said, stirring the bubbling pot again. "And there's chicken in the oven," she added, and reached for a crisp from the open bag on the counter. "And the starter is crisps," she said, grinning shiftily. "Because the bean's hungry before dinner."

Scorpius smirked, and she felt all her muscles tense, hoping he'd go for anything other than her belly as he moved toward her. But his hands stayed on her belly, smoothing over the bump gently. "What about vegetables?" he asked.

"There's veg in with the chicken," she said, and tested a noodle before flicking off the heat to the stove and moving to get the strainer. "And potatoes are vegetables," she said, helping herself to another crisp.

Dark grey eyes rolled. "Not quite," he said.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him, putting the strainer in the sink and lifting the pot from the stove. "I had salad for lunch, I don't need vegetables," she said, dumping the water and noodles in then carefully picking up and shaking the strainer. Scorpius's eyes dropped to her breasts and Lily felt her nipples getting hard, because she purposely hadn't put a bra on after her bath that morning. "Oh, and I called my landlord. He said the drywall guys are coming tomorrow, so it should only be another week or so."

"And he's pro-rating your rent for this month, right?" the blond pushed, because if he knew Lily, she hadn't asked.

Lily shrugged. "He's been really good about this whole thing," she hedged. "And it's not like my flat is that expensive, really. I bet he could use the money after the renovations." Scorpius pursed his mouth.

"That's why his insurance covers it," he said dismissively. "Tell him you aren't paying for a flat you couldn't live in, Lily."

The redhead sent him a glare, but shrugged. "Sure," she mumbled, and dumped the drained pasta back in the pot, going to the fridge for milk. "Anyway, I'll be out of your hair soon."

Scorpius frowned a little at that, because he thoroughly enjoyed having Lily in his hair. She left her towels on the bathroom floor, and her hair in the shower drain, and his grocery bill was through the roof almost, but he wouldn't trade it for coming home to empty silence after work again, and the barren existence he'd lived before Lily had quasi-moved into his flat. She'd brought a dozen potted plants that now lived in his kitchen window, except for the little cactus that lived in her room, and at least four hand crocheted blankets that brightened up his living room where they were piled on his couch and chairs. Not to mention the small army of products she'd put in his bathroom.

In short, Scorpius didn't want her to go. But he knew better than to ask her to stay, and knew she was anxious to get back to her flat. It was still a hard pill to swallow, because he'd miss her intensely, he was certain, whenever she did leave with all her homey clutter. "Sure," he said easily.

Lily turned away as she dumped cheese powder onto the milky macaroni and stirred vigorously. She'd been half hoping Scorpius would ask her to stay, because she couldn't imagine giving up the very luxurious lifestyle she'd been playing at recently, to move back to her humble flat. But certainly Scorpius wanted her and her clutter gone, probably as soon as possible, and the redhead told herself it was silly to want to cry at that thought. Because in a very short time, the blond's flat had come to feel like home.

"Oh, and Albus called me earlier," she said, looking at Scorpius pointedly. He looked away as he shucked his jacket. "You haven't told him yet," she said loudly, as he walked to hang up the garment in the hall closet. Lily had been pushing to have Scorpius break the news he was her baby dad, and that she'd temporarily moved in with him, for going on the last two weeks, but he seemed hesitant to do so.

"No," he agreed. "I'm trying to wait for the right moment," he mumbled. And he mostly just didn't want to.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're running out of time," she said, sucking cheese sauce off her thumb. The blond felt his cock twitch excitedly as she sucked another finger clean.

"I know," he said, rougher than he meant, but his libido, which seemed instantly heightened the second Lily was within ten feet of him, had gone into overdrive of late. She was so goddamn sexy, all the fucking time, and he was pretty sure he hadn't jerked off so much since high school. But she'd drawn the line in the sand that defined their relationship, and he could respect that. Even if it killed him a little.

"Mmm, and I meant to tell you but I completely spaced out, I got a call back from the doctor's yesterday, and they said I can have one more ultrasound so we can find out if the bean's a boy or girl," she said happily.

"When for?" he asked, smiling at her excitement as he removed his tie and undid the first two buttons on his shirt.

"October eighth," she said. "At four."

"Good. Hopefully she cooperates this time." Lily rolled her eyes, because he hadn't wavered even a little in his conviction their baby was a girl.

"He will," she said with confidence, and he chuckled. "And, last but not least, Rose wants to know what's taking us so long picking a baby girl's name," she added. Her baby shower was scheduled for the day after the ultrasound, in the hopes they'd finally get a for sure gender.

"Did you tell her that's because you're a stubborn half-Weasley?" he teased. Lily frowned.

"I am not. I told you, I'm not naming my kid after a damn star or constellation."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "And I've told you, it's tradition. Besides, you like the name Orion for boys."

"That's beside the point," she snapped. "And my bean's not being named Orion, anyway," she said. "His name is Felix."

"Orion James Malfoy," Scorpius finished. "So yes, he would be named Orion, just not primarily. But it's a moot point, because she's a girl." Lily shook her head, mouth pursed. She knew she ought to bring up the subject of the last name, but, as he'd said about talking to Al, the right moment never appeared. And Scorpius had simply assumed the baby would have his surname, although Lily rather thought her baby should have her name.

"And on the off chance it is a girl, she's not having some godawful celestial name," she said instead.

"Not even Luna?" he teased. She narrowed her eyes.

"Especially not Luna."

Scorpius grinned as she turned to get dishes from the cupboard, and ogled her ass. It was looking damn good, almost peeking out from her little shorts. "So what do you like?" he asked.

Lily sighed, because he'd asked a hundred times at least, and she couldn't bring herself to give him a straight answer, because she honestly didn't have one. She was all but positive the baby was a boy anyway, so it seemed silly. "I like anything that's not star related."

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "Anything?" he questioned shrewdly.

"Anything mostly normal sounding," she amended.

"How about we make a deal then," he said, grinning. "I pick a normal, non-celestial girl name, and if the baby's a girl come December, I'll get to pick her name." Lily snorted, because that seemed fair. "But I'm not telling you what it is."

"That's so not fair," Lily said automatically. Scorpius shrugged.

"Then tell Rose you're being stubborn," he said. Lily pouted, then pulled the chicken breasts out of the oven, and dinner was served. They argued some more over suitable girls' names, except that apparently both of them didn't want to reveal their choices, as they ate, and Lily listened to the latest story of the office's greenest intern, who'd apparently had a rough day, breaking the printer twice and spilling coffees all over the conference room when the guy came running, literally, in.

"So I have to ask you kind of a favour," Scorpius said as they tidied up the dishes and put the leftovers away some time later.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Scorpius looked away, then told himself sternly to man up. "I need you to go to lunch with my mother."

Lily looked at him and blinked. "Your mother?" she said after a long pause. "Why do I have to do that?"

Scorpius held back a sigh. "I may have sort of accidentally mentioned you, and the baby, the last time I talked to her. So she really wants to have lunch and get all the details." He shrugged. "And, of course, she probably wants to buy you something."

Lily's brows pulled together at that. "Buy me something?" she asked.

"Yes," Scorpius said, and glanced at her. "She's been asking since my twenty fifth birthday when I'm going to settle down and get married and give her grandchildren. I figured at least one of those things accomplished, thanks to you, would make her feel inclined to buy you something in gratitude."

Lily blinked, because she'd never thought about that before. Scorpius had a whole extended family of relatives, that would be part of her baby's too, if only be default. And Lily couldn't help but think, instantly, of Scorpius's father, and his slightly unfavourable history, even if he was currently an upstanding citizen. "I guess I could have lunch with your mum," she said after a moment, and hoped to God she wouldn't have to meet his father too.

"Thanks," he said, sounding relieved, and smiled a little bit.

"Don't thank me yet," she said, smiling. Scorpius stopped smiling. "You're coming with," she said happily. Scorpius snorted.

"My attendance wasn't requested for lunch," he said dismissively.

The redhead grit her teeth on her smile. "Consider it requested now," she said darkly, then affected an angelic expression. "Or would you rather send me all by my lonesome to your mother's, and have not a single bloody clue what we talked about in your absence?"

Scorpius frowned. "That's mean."

Lily shrugged. "Tell you what," she said teasingly, "how about you come with, and field the awkward questions, and you can pick your pointless girls' name for the baby should Hell freeze over this winter. And not tell me."

Scorpius considered this for a long moment, then smirked. "Deal," he said, and held out his hand. Lily shook it firmly, ignoring the tingle of awareness any contact with him always brought.

"Deal," she repeated.

So that Saturday, Lily went shopping with Rose for something appropriate to wear, and unload her anxieties. "It's going to be weird, I just know it," Lily sighed.

"How is it going to be weird? It's not like you're meeting the Queen."

Lily rolled hazel eyes, pausing to look at a flowy tanktop in a deep, vibrant purple. "This is pretty," she murmured.

"No," Rose said instantly, and Lily rolled her eyes again. "Seriously, though, you're making mountains out of molehills, Lily. You said yourself the stuffy old broad's just going to be ecstatic she's getting a grand baby."

"I didn't say  _that_ ," Lily corrected. "But still. They're like posh and rich and shit. And I'm wearing real pants for only the second time this week," she said. Her cousin laughed. "I want to make a good impression." Rose lifted a brow but didn't say anything. Her smirk spoke volumes. "Oh sod off," Lily groaned.

Rose laughed some more, then moved over to some dresses. "I'm not saying a word." Rose flicked through the rack critically. "So have you lot told anyone else? Besides Scorpius's mum?"

Lily sighed. "I want him to tell Al first. But he's not doing it."

"Can I tell Al?" Rose asked without looking up. Lily snorted.

"No. He'll be pissed if someone other than Scorpius tells him," Lily said, glancing at a different tank top. Rose tilted her head a little, because Albus had been, and still was, pissed Scorpius hadn't told him directly after finding out.

"Either way, it's going to get out at some point. I mean, you live with him, right?" Rose said. Once again, she was the only person in the loop, and Lily knew the strain had to be getting to her.

"Not for much longer," Lily said. "I'll be home in no time." Except that was only a part truth, because that place wouldn't quite feel like home again, after sharing a space with Scorpius.

Rose frowned, but then grinned, and pulled out a sleek, navy blue dress. "This," she said decisively. Lily frowned, because it looked patently way too fucking small.

"No," Lily said automatically and Rose rolled blue eyes. "It won't fit."

"Sure it will, it's stretchy. You're trying it on." Rose shoved the garment at her, and the redhead took it with a sigh, going to try it on. And, to her surprise, it did fit, even if it was a bit snug through the belly, but she thought it made her look extra expecting.

"I dunno," she murmured, coming out of the change room. Rose beamed.

"I do. It looks amazing. You look amazing in it. And you're buying it, because it's on clearance," Rose said firmly. Lily sighed again, but bought the dress, because she didn't find anything else after another half hour of shopping.

Lunch was set for noon the next day, and Lily felt nervous as she paced Scorpius's flat restlessly at nine that night, anxious about the stupid meeting with stupid Scorpius's mum. "Why are you pacing?" Scorpius asked, looking up from some work he'd brought home.

He was sitting on the couch, sleeves on his light grey shirt rolled up, tie gone, buttons undone, and hair mussed from running his hand through it in frustration. To Lily, he looked perfectly ravage worthy. "I can't sleep," she mumbled, crossing through the living area again, into the kitchen, around the little island, and back out again.

"Why not?" he asked, smiling a little.

Lily rubbed her bump, humming. "I'm nervous," she said honestly, and licked her lips, "about meeting your mum. She's kind of intimidating."

Scorpius shrugged. "Not really."

Lily wrung her hands, then paused in her pacing. "What if she doesn't like me?" she asked after screwing up all of her courage. Scorpius smiled.

"How couldn't she like you? You're awfully fantastic, darling," he said softly. Lily smiled, blushing a tiny bit, and couldn't help the sharp surge of arousal, her longing for him peaking dangerously.

"Thanks," she breathed. Then huffed out a sigh. "But I still can't sleep. I'm not even remotely tired."

Scorpius looked at her, the soft curves of her breasts and belly enticing him more than he recalled any woman's figure ever had before, and had to resist the urge to offer her a way to fall asleep for certain, after he'd pleasured her thoroughly and completely. "Do something boring," he suggested instead.

The redhead started pacing again. "I am, it's called pacing. Did you know it takes me precisely eighteen steps to get from the kitchen to the bathroom? That's an awful lot." Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"I meant like read the phone book or something," he said.

"Do you even own a phone book?" she asked. Now that he thought on it, Scorpius doubted it. "Exactly," Lily said primly. "So I'll just pace quietly and try not to have an anxiety attack and you can frown at your work shit."

He sighed. "You're distracting," he grumbled and Lily shrugged. "So come sit, and we'll talk about why you're nervous," he said, patting the couch beside himself. Lily sat down a foot further away than he'd indicated, but neither of them mentioned it. "So?" Scorpius said, brows raised.

Lily, feeling a little embarrassed, shrugged. "I dunno, she's just kind of intimidating. She's head of like the Historical Society, and the Flower and Garden Club, and all those fancy, elite type things."

Scorpius smirked. "Except she's only a member of those groups because she kind of has to be, what with being a Malfoy and whatever. And she only heads them because she likes to have her way," he said easily, and Lily's mouth parted, because that kind of made her feel a lot better.

"Really?" she murmured.

"Really," Scorpius said. "Although she does take her gardening quite seriously regardless." Lily sat back on the couch, turning in to face him.

"What else? I need to know what to talk to her about, after we run out of baby topics," the redhead said, trying not to sound too eager. He chuckled and got comfortable, putting his work aside. She put her feet up.

"She likes to cook, but she's not very good at it," Scorpius said with a rueful little smile. "Except we pretend it's not horrible." Lily tried to stifle a giggle. "And she loves throwing parties, which is also a warning," he said, and Lily did giggle at that. She sat back, listening as he talked, her attention starting to drift to the pleasant sound of his voice, the expressive movements of his mouth when he spoke, and the steady dark grey gaze that was intent on her. "Are you feeling tired yet?" Scorpius asked, and Lily sighed, shaking her head.

"No," she said, "but I'd trade just about anything for a foot rub about now." She peeked up hopefully, and to her absolute delight, and more than slight guilty pleasure, Scorpius lifted her bare foot.

"Anything?" he drawled.

"Just about," she said, and told herself she wasn't turned on, with little success. "Why, what did you have in mind?" she asked, a little huskier than she meant, but licked her lips at the hot blast of desire that had her all but aching for him. His thumbs stroked up the arch of her foot, making her wriggle, and he grinned.

"I have plenty in mind," he said, and Lily felt her breathing hitch at the slight hint of innuendo in that statement.  _God I must be desperate, because I'm halfway there and he hasn't even made a move_. "But most of them depend on what you have in mind," he added quietly.

She took a deep breath. "Really," she murmured.

Scorpius smirked. "Really," he repeated. "For instance," he said, rubbing her foot and making her hum her enjoyment, "would you trade staying here for the rest of next month?" Lily blinked.

"What?" she said.

"Stay here," he said lightly. "Don't go back to your flat until November."

"But my flat's going to be ready in a week," she said softly, wondering what he was playing at. It wasn't, as she was hoping, that he  _wanted_  her to stay, was it?

"I know," he murmured. "But all your worldly possessions are already here," he said. "And when you're around I get loads more baby time," he added. Lily shrugged.

"I suppose," she said, and tried to smother the jolt of elation seeing him smile at her acquiescence wrought. "But let's be real," she said, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch and tucking it up under her head as she leaned back, shifting to get comfortable. "You just like coming home to dinner," she teased and Scorpius chuckled.

"Guilty," he admitted, but he privately thought he rather preferred coming home to dinner and Lily in his kitchen.

"Typical man," she murmured, closing her eyes as he massaged her foot. "You're a sucker for food."

Scorpius heard her breathing even out, sleep overcoming her as he set her foot down, and smiled, because she looked impossibly lovelier in sleep. But, he reckoned, sleeping on the couch would leave her stiff and sore. "Lily," he said softly, gently shaking her shoulder. She hummed and rolled over, into the couch more. Scorpius sighed. "Time to get up, darling. You fell asleep. Time to go to bed."

"Five more minutes," she murmured, eyes still closed. He smiled.

"No, c'mon, Lily, time to get up." He shifted her legs off his lap and she curled around her blanket, done in varying shades of green and cream.

"I'm good," she mumbled.

The blond looked at her and sighed. She was going to be the death of him, he was certain. "Come on," he said softly, shook her once more, and got up when she pulled a face, waving him off. Seeing no other alternative, he told his libido to be good, and leaned down to lift her up and just carry her to bed.

He got an arm under her knees and the other under her shoulder blades, and rolled her into his chest as he stood up with her. He took a moment to make sure she was still sleeping, then started toward her room. There was a tense moment where he had to edge her into the bedroom sideways, trying to avoid bumping any of her against the door frame, but he at last got her to her bed and set her down, his arms gratefully. But as he made to pull away, she rolled over, into him, one arm snaking around his neck, pulling him down and into her soft, sleepy warmth. He froze, but she merely smiled serenely and slept on.

"Lily," he whispered, and made to pull away, but she held on.

"Don't go," she breathed, and her fingers moved through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"No, I have to go, darling," he said, wishing he didn't, and sat down on the edge of her bed, unhooking the arm from around himself. The other arm came around his neck in its stead and she snuggled her face into his throat and sighed.

"No," she mumbled, and he felt his determination to leave crumbling. And then her lips brushed the sensitive flesh of his neck. "You can stay," she said softly, and the blond found himself wondering if she would hate him in the morning if he did stay.  _Don't be silly, of course she will. She's not going to remember this_.

"I really have to go," he said softly, pulling back one last time, and she frowned, then blinked her eyes open.

"Go where?" she demanded, and Scorpius prayed she wasn't dreaming.

"To bed," he said. "Go back to sleep."

"But you're already in bed," she said, and Scorpius was pretty sure he stopped breathing when she leaned in and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him lingeringly,

"I meant my bed," he said roughly, too aware of how soft she was, and how good she smelled, and how badly he wanted to kiss her again.

"Then let's go," she murmured, eyelids drooping sleepily again.

"You're going to stay here, darling," he said, trying to edge away again, but the redhead was apparently determined, even in sleep, and held on tightly.

"Okay, we'll stay," she said, and tugged him down. "Come lay down."

Scorpius gulped, certain she would hate him in the morning, but he was tired, and she was so very stubborn after all, and it would be heaven to simply curl himself around her and fall asleep. "Okay," he finally said, following the pressure of her arm to lay with her, and she smiled, eyes closing again.

"Goodnight, Scorpius," she said, and he heard her breathing even. Once she'd relaxed her grip, he slid into a more comfortable position, and once he was positive she was fully asleep, he removed his pants and snuggled up to her sleeping form. Sleep came swiftly, and he told himself he could worry about her reaction in the morning when morning came.

XXX


	8. Blurring the Line

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Eight - Blurring the Line

Lily came to first noticing she was warm. Very warm. In fact, she was  _hot_  and a tiny bit sweaty, and she wondered what the bloody hell sort of blanket mountain she must be buried under to be so sweltering. She shoved out, pushing the light afghan off herself, and felt a little better, but she was still boiling. Lily made to roll over, but her progress was impeded halfway by something very solid that seemed to be the source of the heat. In the next instant, she realized it wasn't a some _thing_  so much as a some _one_.

She sat up very fast, and looked down in horror at Scorpius effing Malfoy, passed out in her bed, which technically was his bed to start with, looking like some sort of fallen god while he slept and the morning sun poured into the room, gilding his profile in gold. For a horrible moment she wondered if they'd had sex and she'd somehow forgotten, or possibly slept through it, but dismissed that notion as quick as it came. She didn't think that would be possible. And she was still in her clothes from the night before.

Lily stared at him, torn between admiring his very pleasing facial structure, and punching him for winding up in her bed. The last thing she'd recalled, she'd passed out on the couch during a foot rub.

Scorpius rolled over in his sleep, one arm reaching out into the space she'd just vacated, and then he opened his eyes. "Shit," the sleepy blond breathed, and sat up, his shirt wrinkled to hell, hair sticking up all over the place, and looking adorably repentant. "I can explain. Being here, I mean, in your bed." Lily was curious, so she folded her arms expectantly. Scorpius gulped. "Well, you see, we were talking on the couch, and I gave you a foot rub-"

"I remember that part," she said.

"Right," he said and pushed a hand through his hair, messing it up further. "So, then you sort of fell asleep, and you're possibly the most stubborn woman on the face of the planet, even when asleep, and you wouldn't wake up. So I carried you to bed-"

"Wait, you carried me?" she asked, eyes wide, looking shocked, and Scorpius smiled a little.

"Yes."

"But I'm kind of gigantic," she said, pursing her mouth apologetically.

"It wasn't too bad," Scorpius assured her. Even if his arms were a smidge sore still. "Anyway, I brought you in here, but then you-" Scorpius broke off, cheeks going pink, and looked down. "You made a very persuasive case for making me stay."

Lily frowned. She vaguely remembered a dream, perhaps, where she'd been trying to convince Scorpius he shouldn't go somewhere. But that had just been a silly dream. "What did I say?" she asked.

Scorpius shrugged, looking away again. "You just told me to stay, and when I told you I had to go, you demanded where, and then told me I was staying and basically held me down," he said honestly, and dark grey eyes peeked up again.

Lily debated internally over whether he was telling the truth, but then her baby kicked, distracting her, so she decided he must be, and if not, good for him, she supposed. And if Lily was honest with herself, she knew deep down she was more than okay if he had tried something, but she just wished she'd been awake for it. She rubbed her bump, feeling hungry, and sighed. "If you say so," she murmured at last, and yawned. "And I'm sorry, I guess. I'm probably not a good bed mate."

Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, because he had, literally, zero complaints. "I've had worse," he said truthfully, and she wrinkled her nose.

"On that note, I'm getting up," she said decisively, and hefted herself out of bed, going to the bathroom and shutting herself inside. After a shower and dressing, which she was thankfully alone for during the latter, Lily went out to the kitchen and headed for coffee to partake in her one cup a day. Scorpius was eating breakfast, looking freshly showered himself, drinking coffee, and reading the newspaper. She noticed her bagel was cut and waiting in the toaster, and she felt a flutter of delight at the thoughtfulness. She pressed the toaster down, put cream and sugar in her coffee, and waited for breakfast to toast as she sipped.

"Are you nervous about lunch?" Scorpius asked after she'd sat down at the breakfast bar beside him to eat.

"Um, not too much anymore," she admitted.

"Good," Scorpius said and went back to reading his newspaper. Lily concentrated on eating breakfast.

After a morning spent working, for them both, Lily changed into her luncheon dress and respectable red pumps. She was wondering if she might be too dressed up, looking at herself in the mirror in the bathroom, but then she saw Scorpius appear in the doorway, wearing a sleek light grey suit, white shirt unbuttoned at his throat. He looked pretty damn fancy, at least to her, so she assumed she'd be alright.

"I clean up alright, don't you think?" she said jokingly, and spun around slowly, smiling a little.

Scorpius looked at her, all woman in her slinky little navy dress that was utterly respectable except that he couldn't stop wondering if she was naked underneath it. "Better than alright," he rumbled. He personally would have gone with absolutely bloody amazing. "Ready to go?" he asked.

The redhead smiled, because he asked that anytime they went anywhere. And she found it was beginning to grow on her. "Ready," she murmured, and after grabbing her purse, including ultrasound photos, they headed out. As they got into his car, Lily couldn't help but ask, as he reached to start the ignition, "Are you going to get a different car when the bean is here?"

Scorpius blinked, then shrugged. "I suppose. Or maybe just another car." Lily felt her brows lift a bit at that, but didn't say anything, because everything she thought to say sounded rude and presumptuous. He started the car and they headed out, and Lily wondered, for the first time, if she'd made the best decision, telling Scorpius he'd fathered her baby. Because the thought of having to share any precious part of her baby with others, including her own massive extended family to a degree, felt foreign.

They pulled up to a rather large, light grey stone house with massive wrought iron gates and fencing, perfectly manicured shrubbery and lawns, and a grand, circular drive before the wide entrance. "Okay, now I'm kind of nervous," she admitted as Scorpius parked the car and shut it off.

"Don't be. My mother is nothing compared to yours." Lily wasn't sure if that was helpful or not, but got out of the car and went in of her own free will, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

Everything was fine, except that Lily kind of felt like she was in a museum as they passed through a massive, three story ceiling foyer and equally grand living room that looked perfect and pristine, into a much more normal, though still distinctly posh and tasteful, sort of sitting room. And there, sitting on a couch, was Mrs. Astoria Malfoy herself, looking intimidating and gorgeous in her well tailored Chanel, and Lily felt distinctly inferior.

And then the blonde haired blue eyed woman beamed, stood up, and moved forward, hugging Lily. "Oh, this is quite possibly the best sight my eyes have ever witnessed. It's such a pleasure to meet you, dear. And you look positively gorgeous! Come, sit." She leaned up and pecked her son on the cheek. "You can leave now, Scorpius."

"Oh no," Lily said, brightly. "He's decided he wants to join us. Right?" she said, looking up at the tall blond.

He smiled, and only a tiny bit ruefully. "I have." He glanced at his mother, who frowned. "I don't want you grilling her, Mother."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Astoria said, then they all sat, Lily on the sofa perpendicular to Scorpius's mum, Scorpius beside her, and Astoria in her original seat. "So I have to know everything," the blonde woman said the moment they'd all sat. "How far along are you?"

Lily swallowed. "Um, twenty four and a half weeks." Astoria's brows lifted.

"Girl or boy?"

The redhead smiled ruefully. "We don't know for sure, but my money's on boy. I'm sure of it."

"Girl," Scorpius murmured. Astoria shot her son a dark look.

"A woman knows, Scorpius," she said repressively. "Is he a very active baby? Scorpius was positively bothersome, kicking all the time, especially toward the end."

Lily shrugged. "I wouldn't say more than normal."

Astoria smiled, then glanced at Scorpius, lifting a brow in silent thought, then smiled at Lily. "So just one last thing, and then we'll have lunch. I'm sure you're hungry. Lord, I ate almost nonstop with Scorpius."

Lily blushed. "Sure," she said easily.

Astoria glanced at Scorpius again, then looked directly at Lily and said boldly, "Are you and my son in a relationship?"

Lily had been expecting this question, because if she had a son worth a bloody fortune whenever she croaked, she'd want to know too, and had her answer ready. "We're parents of the same baby, so there's that," she said lightly, "but if you mean romantically, then no."

Astoria frowned. "Why ever not?" she demanded.

The redhead blushed again and licked her lips. "Mother," Scorpius said firmly, and Astoria glared at her son.

"Scorpius," she replied, "I'm not so old as to be stupid. Obviously there was some sort of tryst," Lily blushed a little more at that, "and seeing as she got pregnant, the noble thing to do is-"

"I would say no," Lily interrupted, and Astoria and Scorpius, who'd been frowning at each other, looked over at her. "And the reason Scorpius and I aren't in a relationship is because I'm not interested in that, outside the fact we're parents of the same child."

Astoria blinked at her as Scorpius smirked. "There you have it mother," he said flatly, and although he contorted his facial muscles into a vague approximation of amusement, inside, Scorpius couldn't help but feel as though he'd been punched in the gut. He'd assumed as much, all along, but hearing it said aloud was almost too much to bear.

Astoria frowned. "Very well. Let's eat," she said, and they rose and headed into the family dining room, which ran adjacent to the much larger and more grandly appointed formal dining room. Lily ate with her usual gusto, Astoria fired question after question at her, and Scorpius sat back, mostly toying with his food, not in the mood for lunch or listening to Lily speak, at times even with her mouth full, with his mother about the baby.

The blond wanted to stomp out of the goddamn house, go home, and get on his motorcycle, and let the wind blow his thoughts clear. Instead, he nibbled at the three course luncheon his mother had paid someone else to prepare and counted the minutes until they could leave. By the time Lily cleared her dessert plate, Scorpius was praying to the gods exit would be imminent. And then his lovely, poised, socialite, and bloody nosy old bird of a mother opened her big fat mouth and asked Lily if she planned on having maternity photos done.

Lily blinked. "What?" she asked.

"You know, dear," Astoria said, waving her fork. "Those lovely shots women get done of their pregnant bellies. You must have heard about it. It's a documentation of your little boy's time growing inside you."

"That sounds beautiful," Lily said, becoming oddly misty eyed. She sniffled a tiny bit. "I don't know anyone who's gotten them done."

Astoria swallowed a tiny bite of cake. "Consider it taken care of, dear, it's really the very least I can do. I must have your number, so I can tell you all the details of the shoot when I've got it all ironed out."

"Oh no," Lily said lightly. "I can pay for it, it's fine, I-"

"Nonsense, dear," Astoria said, waving a hand pushing her mostly uneaten cake aside. "I've dreamed of grandchildren since the hellish twenty seven and a half hour labor I had with my dear son. And now my wait is almost over!"

Lily's eyes went wide. "That's a long time."

Astoria shrugged. "A friend of mine who had her baby two months after me went  _three days_."

Lily was glad she wasn't eating, because she was pretty sure she would've choked. As it was, she just sucked in a gasp and her mouth fell open. "Bloody hell! You're kidding me!" she said, and winced a little. Astoria shook her head.

"Nope. And the poor thing didn't even opt for pain medication."

"She sounds like a lunatic," Scorpius breathed, but Lily heard him and privately agreed.

"That sounds impossible," Lily said, rubbing her bump. "I hope mine's quick."

"Me too, dear," Astoria said kindly. "Now, about baby pictures. I was thinking we could schedule them for just before your due date for maximum bump, but of course, we can't cut it  _too_  close."

Scorpius barely refrained from rolling his eyes. It was another half hour before they finally,  _finally_ , left, and Lily seemed awfully emotional as they got into his car. Then, to his horror, when he glanced across at her as he reached for the ignition, he saw she crying. And he had  _no_  idea why. "Lily?" he said weakly.

She sniffled, rubbing her bump. "I was thinking, before I met your mum, that it would be weird to share him with her, but now I'm kind of excited for them to meet." Lily chuckled, wiped her eyes, and sighed. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Scorpius said lightly, and she lifted her brows briefly, mouth thinning the tiniest bit, and then looked out the window, up at his childhood home. The drive home was silent.

Lily got her keys to her fully rehabitable flat eight days after she was told a week, which she figured was pretty good, and although she planned to stay with Scorpius until November, because she was greedy and foolish, she wanted to check it out nonetheless. The redhead was still waiting on a check from her insurance company, for the contents of her flat, something her father had purchased for her, and made her payment for every damn month. She'd never understood the point, until then. She asked Scorpius to come with her, because she was kind of freaked out, and although she instantly regretted it, he acquiesced.

When Lily got there, the place felt cold, and sterile, and although it was a slight upgrade on her last flat, she couldn't picture herself in it anymore, and broke down in tears in the bedroom, because she didn't really ever want to go back and live in that utterly bland, unpersonalized apartment she'd once called home. And when Scorpius pulled her into himself, she clung to him.

"Are you okay?" he breathed, their foreheads pressed together, his long, powerful frame curved around her bump protectively and making her feel utterly safe in the circle of his arms. Lily rather reckoned she was, so long as he held her just like he was, and lifted onto her toes as she pressed her face into his neck and nodded wordlessly. "Do you want to go back?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes," she replied softly, and regretted that as well, because he was pulling away in the next breath. Lily let go and cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks burn red when he reached for her hand and squeezed it softly.

"Let's go."

On the drive back to Scorpius's very nice flat, Lily tried to think about her latest work assignment, but instead, she found she couldn't stop looking at Scorpius. The full curve of his lip in profile, the aristocratic nose and cheekbones, the ever so slightly pointed chin. He was classically handsome, and there was intelligence in his dark grey eyes, amusement in the slight laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. Her gaze roved lower, and despite herself, Lily found her libido ramping up to boiling point. She couldn't deny, there was something inherently  _sexy_  about Scorpius, and Lily licked her lips, reminding herself firmly she didn't want that kind of relationship with the mouth watering blond.

Except, deep down inside, the redhead knew she'd lied to his mother. She more than merely  _wanted_  a relationship with Scorpius, at least in the bedroom. By the time they got back to his flat, Lily was beyond hot and bothered, face flushed a delicate pink, and tried, with little success, to ignore the urge to press herself against him and snog him senseless in the elevator ride. "Are you sure you're alright?" Scorpius asked as they finally got into his condo. Lily licked her lips again and couldn't resist letting her eyes devour him. He just looked so damn  _good_! And be it her undersexed libido or overactive imagination, she couldn't help but think, in that moment, he might want the same thing.

"Positive," she all but purred. His brows drew together ever so slightly and Lily smiled slowly, then reached up and undid her hair from its bun. Still damp from her shower that morning, it tumbled in a massive dark red mess of curls and waves and tangle around her shoulders. She pushed both hands through it, shaking it out, and glanced up at Scorpius, whose eyes had dropped to her chest. "Are you?"

"Am I what?" he asked, dark grey gaze flicking up.

"Are you okay?" she asked, voice low and husky, and she was pretty sure her nipples were hard. She tilted her head, leaning against the breakfast bar in the kitchen, elbows back and resting on the sleek grey and white marble, chest pushed out, baby bump accentuated even further than normal. "Or did you need something?"

Scorpius swallowed, eyes devouring her, and wondered for the briefest second if Lily was trying to be coy and sexy on purpose. Because she was doing a helluva job, and if it was unintentional, he would certainly have to excuse himself in a moment. But the blond felt a flutter of something distinctly purposeful when her hazel eyes appraised him. And her mouth had the same devilishly tempting smile she'd had the last time he'd taken her to bed. "I need lots of things," he said without thinking, and instantly followed that verbal thought with a nonverbal one that declared precisely what things, most of which she was in possession of.

One burgundy brow lifted, but then she grinned fully. "Oh?" she said. "Like what?"

His eyes dropped to her chest without thought, thoroughly distracted by the luscious, full swells of her breasts straining purposefully against her tank top, nipples hard and blatantly obvious. Scorpius closed the distance between them, just hesitating to touch her. "I need to know if you're interested in getting naked and moving this to the bedroom for starters," he murmured.

Lily felt her heart thudding in her chest, breathing uneven, smelling his cologne and feeling his body heat emanating from him, her arousal already at dizzying heights. "I'm more than interested, Malfoy," she rumbled.

Her mouth parted, breath hitching on a tiny moan, as his hands smoothed first over her bump and then around her hips, up her sides, and at last to her breasts, thumbs teasing her aching nipples, and Lily threw caution to the wind. Before he could say anything, she was pulling him down and snogging him senseless, and his hands moved to grab her ass. They moaned in tandem and then broke apart, and Lily looked up into stormy, very dark grey eyes.

"You have no idea how bloody fucking sexy you are," Scorpius rumbled, and she moaned, arching into him, arms around his shoulders still, desperate for friction in the one place she couldn't quite get any. His hands moved over her again, this time under her tank, and Lily almost forgot how to breathe altogether. "You're so round, and  _full,_  and there's just so much more of you."

She sucked in a breath of shock at that. "I beg your fucking pardon?" she snapped, shoving his arms down roughly. His brows lifted and her libido raged in tandem with her temper as he smirked.

"None of which is remotely a bad thing, darling," he added. She swallowed thickly as he cupped her breasts, hands underneath her shirt once more. He grunted softly, weighing the supple flesh, then teased her nipples again, and Lily bit her lip as they tightened. "It's damn near unbearable it's so fucking sexy."

She was mostly mollified by that, but then he tugged her nipples, and Lily moaned, and he was kissing her, snogging her really, thoroughly, and walking them back toward his bedroom. Once there, Lily couldn't fight the pull of animal desire she felt for Scorpius, and as he undressed her, she greedily did the same to him, touching his nakedness with indecent anticipation.

By the time they got into bed, Lily was almost gone mad with wanting, and didn't hesitate to take control, climbing atop Scorpius as she pushed his shoulders back, and sinking greedily onto his prick. And, because she felt she should make it clear this was simply some kind of hormonal lapse that would definitely never be more than another one-night deal, the redhead said firmly, "This is only happening right now because I just really need to get laid."

Scorpius smirked a little, thrusting as she gyrated and groaned, making her eyes go wide. "I can handle that," he said. Lily set a fast, greedy pace, letting the last of her reserve fly, and the pent up passion that had smoldered in the last weeks burst forth from her in a torrent. She tossed her hair, moaning and writhing, touching every sleek plane of him as she pleasured herself on him. Scorpius followed her lead, his thrusts growing faster and harder with every downstroke she made, and within minutes, Lily was whimpering and trying to stave off the inevitable. "Come for me, Lily," he murmured, and she moaned, almost losing it, shaking her head even while she moaned and cried out and her body betrayed her. "Yes, darling," he rumbled. "Come for me."

She met his dark grey eyes and with one last thrust, she was tipped over the edge into nirvana. And when she opened her eyes again, still hot, arousal still bubbling valiantly, she was lying on her side and Scorpius was spooned intimately behind her. "You didn't-?" she breathed, feeling his very obvious, very hard erection pressing against her. He rubbed it teasingly in the cleft of her buttocks.

"Not yet," he said. Although, despite his calm, controlled voice, for Scorpius it had been a damn close thing. His hand smoothed over her again, tracing her curves, and Lily hummed pleasurably. His mouth brushed her neck. "So good," he groaned softly, gripping her hip firmly, and Lily's desire spiked when he nipped her gently. She pressed back into him instinctively. "Fuck, darling, please tell me you're ready for more," he grunted.

Lily licked her lips, because she was. In answer, she put her hand over his on her hip and guided it down and in between her legs, pressing his fingers against her wetness. "I'm more than ready, Scorpius," she breathed, and groaned as his fingers teased her, and then swirled around her clitoris.

He rutted against her gently and slid two fingers into her. "Ready for what?" he rumbled.

"More," she moaned. He flicked her clit, hard, and she moaned louder, but he pulled his fingers away.

"Roll over," he said, and Lily hesitated, because she wasn't opposed to it, but her bump would surely be squished. "Hands and knees, Lily," he added in a deep, much rougher, timbre, and she almost came again just from the raw sexual dominance in his voice.

That she complied to, and moved onto knees and elbows, feeling him move behind her, gasping her hips to position her. She bit her lip on a moan, because he wasn't even inside her, but when he dragged his prick over her folds, she felt an insanely powerful and all-consuming surge of something far more substantial than lust for Scorpius.

"Fucking Christ," Scorpius said hoarsely, and Lily moaned as he sheathed himself in her, stretching around him again, feeling unbearably, perfectly full. She spread her legs wider and grunted a little, surely dying it was so fucking fantastic.

The blond set a slow, deep pace that set all her nerve endings ablaze and had her heart beating in her throat, his warm, sure hands caressing her everywhere. "Unh, yes," she groaned. "Yes, Scorpius."

He moaned, caressing her breasts greedily, teasing her nipples, wishing he could see her face and watch the play of emotions, not to mention suckle on her hard, engorged nipples. And then his hands dropped lower, brushing the curve of their baby, and he felt a sharp jolt of possessiveness. He pushed it aside, unable to contemplate emotions in the wake of Lily, on her knees and elbows in his bed, letting him make love to her like he'd been aching to do for weeks. He grasped her hips instead and thrust a little harder, loving her moans and cries of enjoyment. "More?" he ground out, moving a little faster now.

"Yesss…" she moaned, the sibilant dragging out as he fucked her a little harder and a little faster still. She tossed her long, crazy mane of red hair and he resisted the urge to grab a handful of it for leverage to fuck her silly right then and there. "Mmm, ohh, yes," she murmured, arching her back, inviting him impossibly deeper. Scorpius growled his approval, thrusting harder and faster still, barely holding back.

"Sweet fuck, Lily," he moaned when she tossed her hair yet again, and the redhead beneath him spread herself wider still, moaning and writhing erotically.

"Ooh, yes, Scorpius," she gasped, "yes!" Her head tilted back and the blond gave in, grasping a fistful of her long, unruly hair, and almost came when she moaned louder still. "Oh  _fuck_  yes!  _Yes_!"

Scorpius lost himself as he pounded her into oblivion, loving every debauched second of it, from the hot, slick, tightness of her pussy around his unsuited up cock, to the luscious ripeness courtesy of her pregnancy. And when he came, he was certain that he was utterly and completely in love with Lily.

She looked over at him afterward, both lying on their backs, panting and sweaty and unable to stop grinning. "That might've been better than last time," she said.

Scorpius chuckled. "Definitely," he agreed. And although those three words almost spilled from his mouth as they rolled to face one another in the same moment, he was glad when the redhead spoke first.

"Not that it means anything," she added quickly, blushing a little, and to his chagrin, she sat up. "It's my crazy baby hormones," she mumbled, and pushed a hand through her hair, then blushed again. "Um, I'm going to go to the bathroom," she said, and before Scorpius could say a word, she was up and out of bed, and then closed herself in his master bathroom.

The second Lily locked the door behind herself, she wished she'd gone to the main bathroom,  _outside_  his bedroom. Or at least grabbed her bloody clothes. Instead she was naked in her baby daddy's private bathroom, feeling close to panic after a long, thoroughly satisfying shag with him that had just far exceeded his previous record of the best ever.  _Good job, stupid, now you're stuck in here, naked, and you have to go back in there at some point_. So Lily used the loo, washed her hands, finger combed her hair, and tried to tell herself she wasn't a flustered, embarrassed, and sinfully guilty mess. But she was.

She was flustered by the sharp surge of excitement and anticipation at the thought of seeing Scorpius again, and her still churning, ever growing feelings for him. She was embarrassed because she'd just shagged and run, and because she wasn't precisely accustomed to just parading around naked. And she felt wracked with guilt of the very worst sort, because a not so small part of her wanted to go back, climb right back into bed with him, and try for round three.

At last, Lily summoned her courage, and went back into the bedroom. Scorpius was sitting up in bed, thankfully dressed in jeans once more, and she moved swiftly to gather her belongings. "Are we talking about this?" he asked softly once she'd slipped her clothes back on.

"Talking about what?" she asked in a forced cheerful voice. Scorpius regarded her for a moment, head tilted ever so slightly to the side, and Lily stared expectantly back.

"What just happened," he said at last. "That's it, then?"

Lily forced a smile, even though she wanted to say no, and be greedy and foolish and pretend there was something real there. "Sure." And then, before she could stop herself she added, "For now."

Scorpius's brows both lifted. "For now?" he repeated, sounding almost awed.

"For now," she confirmed. "I'll let you know if I need to get laid again."

For another long moment, Scorpius regarded her, but then he shook his head the tiniest bit. "I can handle that," he said finally, and smirked, looking horribly, amazingly sexy and making her arousal quiver valiantly. "Your bed next time."

And as she stood there, rooted to the spot in shock that he could be so utterly and completely blase about what they'd just shared, even in the face of her act, stung a little. Scorpius brushed past her and exited the bedroom, and Lily followed slowly, going to her own room to brood. And, even though she didn't plan it, three days later, they did indeed wind up in her bed, and spent the night setting a new level of excellence for Lily yet again.

XXX


	9. Confession Pt. II

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Nine - Confessions Pt. II

September turned into a windy October, and as the days fell away, Lily's appetite and belly grew in spades. And as the baby within her grew, she found herself settling into a very comfortable routine and falling victim to her own foolishness. Because with every moment she spent with Scorpius, every appointment they attended together, and meal shared, Hell, even when they were both working silently in his condo, Lily found herself falling more and more for the tall, handsome blond who'd given her the best gift she'd ever gotten with her bean.

"I have a surprise for you," Scorpius said the day before her final gender reveal ultrasound.

"Ooh, what is it?" she asked, hoping it was a new bag of dill pickle crisps, because she was craving them, and there were none to be had in the kitchen. She put her headphones down and turned in her chair, rubbing her massive bump.

"Come and see," he said, looking abnormally pleased with himself. Lily hefted herself up and followed him out the front door and to the elevator.

"Where are we going?" she asked. "Is it far?" She hadn't grabbed a sweater, or proper shoes, and hoped they wouldn't be going out, because she looked like a slob.

"Not far," he said as they got into the elevator. He punched the button for the garage. They descended in silence, and then the lift pinged and the doors slid open. Scorpius lead the way out, Lily following with her slightly waddling gait behind, and paused when he did, then stepped aside and saw what he was staring at. His parking space was lacking its usual sexy, dark blue sportscar, and Lily frowned, because in its place was a silver, four door BMW, with his plates.

"Whose car is this?" she asked with confusion.

"Mine," Scorpius said. She looked up at him and then it hit her. He'd gotten a new car. Or a different car, rather, and this one looked exceptionally baby appropriate.

She blinked back the sting of tears. "Wow," she said softly, and moved forward, looking in through the driver's side door at the interior. And then her heart almost choked her because, in the back seat, she spotted a top of the line carseat, installed and ready, and it was, if she wasn't mistaken, the very one she'd been angling to buy after her pram, because they fit together. "You bought a car seat," she said, eyes filling with tears, and stood up straight again. When she looked at Scorpius he looked a little startled.

"Uh, yes. As far as I'm aware, that's kind of a necessity." He looked her over. "Right?"

The redhead felt her tears starting to fall down her cheeks and sniffled. "Yeah," she choked out, and then started crying in earnest. She was so touched he'd not only actually replaced his car, but then gotten precisely the car seat she had picked herself. And while logically, it seemed perfectly normal, and she was pretty sure this was all hormones, she couldn't help but feel extraordinarily pleased that he'd done something so very big, and probably expensive, just for their bean. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, trying to wipe her eyes. And then she laughed a little at herself.

Scorpius merely stared at her, mouth parted. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be upset," he said hesitantly. Lily laughed some more, certain she looked utterly insane.

"I'm not," she assured him. "I just had a moment. It happens." She wiped her face properly.

The blond was aware she'd been having a moment. It wasn't the first time since she'd temporarily moved in with him that she'd burst into tears for almost no reason. But it still threw him, the abrupt emotional shifts over the littlest things. "So what do you think?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's a nice car." she moved over to the rear door and opened it, and inspected the car seat. "How did you know what seat to get?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, because he didn't want to admit he'd gone to the store and admitted his ignorance of what was appropriate, and the sales clerk had pointed him to the one he'd purchased.

"Did you talk to Rose?" she asked, standing up again, impressed the car seat was all installed properly, ready to go.

"Um," he said, because he had, after the fact. Lily grinned.

"I knew it," she said, and closed the car door. "It's the seat that matches my pram," she said. Scorpius nodded, because he'd found that out at the store, and watched Lily move to the trunk. "Can you open this? I want to see if my pram will fit in the boot."

Scorpius barely resisted smiling. "If you insist," he murmured, and moved to the driver's door, popping the boot lid. She lifted it and he looked up just time to see her eyes widen. "It fits, though," he said unnecessarily.

Lily stared down at the baby stroller, wondering how in the hell he'd gotten one. "Where did you find this?" she demanded.

"It was shipped from the manufacturer." She looked up at him, her expression almost angry. "What?"

"You would," she snapped, and all but slammed the boot shut again. "God, you're such a prick," she snarled, and turned away from him and the car, stomping back to the elevator. Scorpius beeped the car locked, although he doubted it would be stolen either way, and followed swiftly after his very pissed baby mama.

"What?" he said again.

"You. Are. A. Fucking. Prick," she said slowly, enunciating each word, and punched the up button on the lift.

Scorpius blinked. "Okay. Why am I a prick today?" he asked.

Lily glared, looking torn between telling him off and keeping her mouth shut and letting him sit in guilty ignorance. "That's  _my_  pram, you fucker!" she snapped. "Mine! I've been emailing and calling those fucking twats for weeks, trying to persuade them to even  _look_  and see if they had any left in stock, but  _no_ , they aren't authorized to do that shit, not for me anyway!" She sucked in a deep breath, chest heaving and looking utterly gorgeous. "And then you just magically get them to fucking ship you one!? That's fucking  _bullshit_!" The blond tried very hard not to smirk. "Don't you fucking dare laugh at me either, Scorpius," she hissed. "If you even crack a smile, I will fucking  _end you_."

"Darling," he said softly.

"No! Don't you try to sweet talk me or distract me with sex you fucker, I'm mad at you!" The lift arrived and they got in, Lily pacing like a caged animal, anger rolling off her in waves, and Scorpius leaning against the mirrored back wall, watching her as they ascended. "I can't believe you did that! Did Rose tell you all about the goddamn pram, too?"

"No," he said.

"Great,  _great_ , that's so fucking fantastic. Let me guess, you just stumbled across the thing, then, or what!?"

Scorpius waited to see if she was going to fly off the handle again. She stared at him as though waiting to hear the impossible. "I emailed the manufacturers, told them you'd lost yours in uncontrollable circumstances before you'd even gotten to use it, and they sent that one free of charge. Only, as far as I was told anyway, they didn't actually have the one you wanted, so they sent the deluxe edition one instead."

Lily's mouth fell open, because that made her feel dangerously close to tears again. Had he really gone out of his way to make sure she got her baby carriage back?  _How am I supposed to not love him_!? When she'd gone back to her flat after the fire, and seen all the water damage that had rapidly, in the summer heat, turned into mold damage, she'd wept hardest over her pram. Still in her dining room, the fabric portions all growing a layer of greenish fuzz, and utterly ruined before she'd ever used it. She'd almost considered trying to salvage it, but unlike her baby cot, she knew there was no bloody way she'd ever be able to sanitize it enough to use it. And then Scorpius had gone out of his way to make sure she got, not just  _her_ pram, but the upgraded version she hadn't been able to justify buying at the inflated price.

All she could say was, "That's...that really means a lot."

Later that night, Scorpius was meeting Albus for a late dinner after work, hoping to get home to Lily before she fell asleep. She'd seemed, to him anyway, extra emotional that morning before he'd left, and while he understood it was probably hormones, he couldn't help but worry a tiny bit, in the back of his mind, incessantly, nonetheless.

When he got to the restaurant, Albus was already sitting at a table, and the blond sat himself. "I'm not late, am I?" he asked, because normally that was Albus. "Don't tell me you actually showed up early for once."

"No, I'm just starving."

Scorpius just bit back his comment about Potter appetites. "Ditto," he said instead. "Did you order?"

"Of course," Albus replied, smirking. "You always get the same thing."

"Anyway," Scorpius said as dark grey eyes rolled and Albus chuckled, "what's new with you?"

The dark haired man shrugged. "Same shit, different day, unless you're asking romantically, in which case lots, but nothing worth mentioning. You?"

"Same," he sighed. "Press conferences on Monday, back to back all morning, and then I have personal appointments for the afternoon."

Albus smirked. "Shit. I should ask Hugo if he'll be there." Scorpius grimaced, because Hugo Weasley was a nice guy and a vicious journalist.

"Probably." Scorpius was just praying his candidate didn't fall victim to the sharp wit and cunning words of Weasley.

"Hey, you seen Lily lately?" Albus asked, just as the food arrived. Scorpius froze for a guilty beat, then shrugged.

"Uh," he said blandly, as if trying to think.

"She's bloody massive," Albus said, pulling the lettuce off and adding more ketchup to his cheeseburger stacked with fried onions and pickles. "Eats all the bloody time. And I know, growing a baby," the dark haired man said, munching a chip and rolling vibrant green eyes, "but seriously, even after the baby, she's still gonna be massive."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "No, she'll probably bounce back," he said politely.

"No way," Albus said, shaking his head. "You can't have seen her recently. And if you did, you wouldn't be able to miss her. She's gonna be a blimp by the end of it all."

The blond bit back the urge to snap that he'd seen her perfectly fucking well the night before, when she'd been naked in his bed, spread out for him to devour at his leisure, and he was fairly fucking certain most, if not all, her weight gain was baby induced. "Maybe," he said vaguely, and tucked into his fish and chips.

He missed the way his friend's green eyes glared at him before Albus bit into his burger. "Y'know," the dark haired man said after awhile, "it's kind of funny, but Lily still hasn't told me who her baby dad is yet. I know, she said she wouldn't, but it's not like my baby sister to keep secrets."

Scorpius swallowed, feeling guilty, and shrugged. "What do you mean? I'm sure she keeps plenty from you. You just don't know it."

Albus shook his head. "Not this long, or something this big," Albus insisted, and sighed, sneaking a look up at a very guilty faced Scorpius.

"Your cousin probably knows," he mumbled, because although this was the perfect opportunity to come clean and admit  _he_  was the father of Lily's baby, Scorpius chickened out.

"Who, Rose?" Albus scoffed. "Like she'd tell me. She's pretty much my sister too, her and Lily are so close. I bet she knows, but she'll never tell."

The blond could feel his conscience all but dying in agony, and decided it was now or never. He just had to bite the bullet and fucking  _do_  it. "I know who the father of Lily's baby is," he said abruptly, as if commenting on the weather, and Albus blinked.

"How?" he demanded.

Scorpius licked his lips, wishing he hadn't eaten anything, and sucked in a breath. "She told me," he admitted. Albus sat back.

"So who is it?" he demanded, and for a moment, Scorpius's brow furrowed. That wasn't what he'd expected his best friend to say at all. He'd expected, at least, some kind of denial, or anything other than this cool, calm man sitting across from him, giving him an expectant look he found eerily similar to one Lily wore.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "It's me," he said, at last looking Albus in the eye, and saw that his best mate had, somehow, impossibly, already known.  _How_!?

"Congratulations," Albus said calmly. "You're a dead man. But before that pleasant experience, I have to go and have a little chat with my sister. Excuse me." The dark haired man stood up, looking quietly furious, and although Scorpius didn't want to, he knew Albus would be doubly pissed if he went to Lily's flat and didn't find her there.

"I would suggest calling her. She's not at home," he said, braced as if for Albus to punch him. Green eyes widened.

"Because she's where, you motherfucker?" he growled.

Scorpius sat back in his seat, looking up at his friend. He'd only received a look like that from Albus once in the twenty odd years they'd known one another, and it was the time he'd admitted, while stupendously drunk, he sometimes fantasized about shagging his sister. "My place," he said lightly. "Her flat was damaged in a fire, so until her place is decent, she's staying with me."

Albus could only stare. It was a betrayal of the worst kind, because not only had Scorpius, his best mate, gone and apparently shagged his sister, like he'd once mentioned he'd thought about, but said sister had kept a relationship with his best friend a secret. And not just from him, either. "I fucking hate you right now," Albus finally said, and walked out, only the tiniest bit mollified his friend would foot the bill for dinner.

Meanwhile, Lily groaned as she relaxed in a hot, lilac and vanilla scented bubble bath, and the redhead called up Rose to vent. "Hey girl, what's new in the love nest?" Rose asked. Lily's mouth pursed, eyes rolling.

"Stop saying that," she murmured. "And it's going better than I could've expected, all things considered." She sank a bit lower in the tub. "But that's making me grumpy as hell."

Rose laughed. "What? Is my godson messing with your head?"

"You bet," Lily sighed. She rubbed her bump as an elbow dug into her bladder. "If I don't want to cry, I want to scream and throw things." She shifted a little in the warm water. "Or I want to strip Scorpius naked and fuck him into next week," she added in a mumble, cheeks going pink. Rose giggled.

"That part is probably unrelated to my godson," she teased. Lily rolled her eyes again. "But seriously, why is it so bad if Malfoy's being a decent roommate?"

"It's more than that," Lily grumbled. "He's so thoughtful and considerate, and don't get me wrong, I like that, but goddamn it, that's part of the problem!"

There was a pause from Rose. "Honey, you're not making much sense," she said. Lily growled in frustration.

"It's not supposed to be like this!" she snapped. "I'm not supposed to like him, and he makes it fucking impossible not to! Like today, he says he has a surprise, and do you know what he did?" she said.

"I hope it's something like the time you said he practically held you down and used his mouth to-"

"Rose!" Lily sighed, sitting up in the tub. "Focus."

"Sorry. What'd he do now?"

Lily leaned back again. "He shows me his new car." She waited, but Rose didn't respond. "His perfectly respectable, baby-friendly car," she added for emphasis. "And do you know what was in said car?"

"No," Rose said, and Lily could picture her cousin rolling blue eyes, thinking her over dramatic. She scowled.

"A car seat."

"Oh yeah?" Rose said. "He asked me if I knew if you had one, y'know. I said no."

"And did you tell him to get the one I wanted?" she asked.

Rose snorted. "Honey, I only found out after the fact, because he wanted to make sure you wouldn't go get another one. He picked that shit out all on his own." Lily's mouth dropped open.

"Damn him!" she grouched, and her baby kicked hard. "And then you know what else I found out?" she added, feeling her anger growing as she related the story about him getting her a replacement baby stroller and felt a hard lump of emotion in her throat.

"Why is that such a bad thing?" Rose demanded. "It's like complaining about losing five pounds."

"Well I certainly haven't lost five pounds," Lily sighed, because only the stretchiest, loosest items of her wardrobe were actually fitting. "But seriously, it's driving me nuts. He's not supposed to be good at this!"

"At what?" Rose pushed.

"At making me fall in love with him!" Lily snapped. Rose gasped on the other end, but Lily barely heard her. "Like fuck! He's the sweetest guy on the planet, he's the sexiest man alive, and now he's going to be a bloody amazing father, and I don't know how to hate him anymore, Rose, because I've gone and bloody fallen in love with the bastard!"

Her cousin cleared her throat. "You love him," she repeated. Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Says who?" she replied dismissively.

"You did, sweetie," Rose said loftily. "Like ten seconds ago."

Lily thought back, face heating guiltily. "If you tell anyone," she hissed threateningly.

Rose snorted. "First off, everyone would think poor celibate Rose was going nuts," she scoffed. "And secondly, come on. You know I won't," she mumbled.

Lily sighed. "Please don't," she said, rubbing her hand over her face. "I don't want to feel like this, Rose," she said at last. "It's not supposed to happen like this."

"Maybe it is," Rose said lightly, bringing Lily up short. "I mean, look, obviously it wasn't the plan, but could it really be so bad, having a relationship with your baby daddy?"

Lily thought about that, sighing, because she didn't know. "Maybe," she said to Rose, and rang off not too long later, lying back in the tub, rubbing her belly as her baby wriggled and rolled over. There was a knock at the bathroom door just as her cell rang. "Hang on," she said aloud, lifting herself out of the tub, reaching for her phone and a towel at the same time.

"Lily, don't pick up the phone," Scorpius said through the door. She frowned, putting her towel around herself, and checked the display. It was Albus.

"Why?" she demanded, opening the door. Scorpius's dark grey eyes roved over her. Her phone kept ringing.

"Albus is calling to yell at you."

She frowned some more at that, feeling her temper flare, and grunted. "Really?" she snapped. "Good. I need a good shouting match," she said blandly, and clicked her phone on just before it went to voicemail. "Hello, brother of mine," she said lightly by way of answering. Scorpius grimaced.

"Hello my sister, the traitor," he said darkly. She smiled, bending to pull the plug on her bath, and waddled out to the kitchen for a snack.

"That's awfully harsh."

Albus snorted. "Not really," he said, and she could picture him sneering.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you talked to Scorpius," she said softly, and grabbed a bag of crisps. They weren't dill pickle, but they were salty and crunchy and close enough.

"He talked, I listened," Albus snapped. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. Lily frowned.

"Why would I have told you? I'm not your best mate."

"No, but you are my little sister. I've known you longer than Scor."

She shrugged, munching down on some fried potato. "So?" she asked, mouth full. "If you knocked up one of my best friends, I'd want her to tell me, not you," she said defensively.

"When are you going to tell Mum and Dad?" Albus demanded. "And what about Gran and the Weasleys? Do you think they're going to be pleased to know there's a half-Malfoy in the family now?"

Lily shrugged again, but felt her anger starting to ramp up. "I don't care if they're pleased," she snapped. "And of course I'm going to tell Mum and Dad." She shifted. "When the time is right."

Albus snorted. "Are you going to tell them everything, Lily?" he demanded.

She swallowed, pausing with another crisp halfway to her mouth. "Everything they need to know."

"You don't think they need to know you're living with him?" Albus drawled, and Lily grit her teeth. "Come on, Lily. I'm not an idiot. You're probably shagging him rotten still, aren't you?"

"Fuck you, Albus, that's none of your business," she growled.

"But probably a yes," he said, sounding disgusted.

"Why are you mad at this?" the redhead demanded. "We haven't done a thing wrong, and I'd have thought you'd be pleased I'm not doing this shit by myself anymore," she said, voice wobbling. The redhead couldn't help recalling Albus, after first hearing the news she was pregnant, later voicing his concerns that she'd be a single parent, and the stress of such being too much. Lily had thought, at the time, he was trying to get her to reconcile with whoever the father was, which she supposed she had sort of done. Now he sounded like a damn hypocrite in her opinion.

"He's my best mate! This isn't supposed to happen!" Lily almost laughed, because she was having her own internal struggle over just that.

"Well it's kind of happening regardless," she said firmly. "So you can either handle it, or butt out, really."

Albus sighed in a long suffering sort of way. "Now you sound like Rose," he mumbled.

"What?" Lily said sharply.  _Has Rose been blabbing to him_!?

"Nothing," Albus said darkly. "But I'm still mad at you. You knew the longest, and you could've told me," he insisted, and Lily felt a stab of guilt, because that was true.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, eating a potato chip. Albus snorted.

"It would be more effective if you weren't eating when you said it," he grumbled. Lily grinned.

"Sorry," she mumbled again, mouth half full.

"You're forgiven," he said instantly, and she almost laughed again. But then he added, sounding pleased with himself, "If only because I get to watch you tell Mum and Dad at Sunday dinner. That should be a riot. Because if you won't, I will."

Lily blanched. "I fucking hate you," she said softly, then hung up as Albus laughed at her. Scorpius was hovering, looking uneasy.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, dark grey eyes all concern, mouth a taut line.

She snorted. "I'm going to kill my brother, but other than that, sure."

His gaze roved lower, and she realized she was still only in the towel. "Are you going to get dressed?" he asked.

She crammed in another crisp and shook her head. "Unh uh. I'm going to bed." Scorpius frowned a bit at that, as though wondering why he'd mentioned it. "Want to come with?" she asked, and undid her towel, still holding it around herself.

"You bet, darling."

"Good." She dropped the towel and his cock sprang to attention in his pants. "I'm feeling kind of riled up, and it's easier to fall asleep with you," she admitted, then bit her tongue too late, feeling stupid. But Scorpius didn't comment as they went to her bedroom, and he quickly divested himself of clothing. Within moments, words became unnecessary altogether for Lily, for which she was grateful, and fell asleep soundly after a long, thorough shag.

XXX


	10. When it Rains, It Pours

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Ten - When It Rains, It Pours

Lily woke up to Scorpius's phone alarm the next day, and heard the blond murmur a curse before sitting up, shutting his alarm off, and throwing the sheet off himself. She rolled over as he stood, filling his warm bed space. "Go back to sleep," he murmured, painted golden in the early morning light that poured through the window.

She hummed and closed her eyes, and felt his warm mouth brush over her forehead, then her lips, and at last, her belly. The three words she wasn't supposed to say almost choked her, and she felt her eyes filling with tears behind her lids, even as Scorpius slipped out of her bedroom, clothes tucked under an arm.

She fell back asleep and slept fitfully, finally waking completely at just after eight, and stretched in bed, alone. Lily sighed, telling herself firmly she didn't  _miss_  Scorpius, because that would be silly, and she just preferred waking up to him when he could sleep late with her.

It hit her in the shower, that today would be, most likely, her last ultrasound to possibly find out the gender of her baby. "Hey, Baby," she said, turning her belly into the warm spray of the shower, rubbing it soothingly. "You're going to be on camera today. Again." Lily smiled as her baby rolled over. "So you need to cooperate for us, Baby," she continued, and sighed, because the shower felt nice. "I want to prove you're a boy," she murmured, and her baby kicked, in what she hoped was agreement.

The redhead spent the morning working, grabbed a quick lunch with Rose, and then went to the ultrasound portion of the clinic for her appointment for three o'clock. And, unlike any and every other appointment Scorpius had been scheduled to attend with her, he wasn't there. She told herself he was undoubtedly busy, because politics went on every day of the year, and usually off the clock, but it still rankled. He'd been, seemingly at least, as excited as she to hopefully, finally, find out whether her bean was a boy or girl, and now he wasn't there. She took a deep breath, because she was bound to be waiting for a bit, and tried not to fidget, looking to see if Scorpius would arrive in time more often than strictly necessary. And even though Lily told herself hoping was stupid, and probably pointless, because he  _did_  have a career and all, she hoped nonetheless.

When they called her name, Lily felt her heart plummet to her toes, even as she stood up. And then, just in the nick of time, Scorpius came hustling into the waiting area, and moved toward her. "Sorry I'm late," he breathed, and Lily tried to fight the smile to little avail.

"Just in time," she replied, and took his hand in hers tightly. "Let's go."

The ultrasound technician was the same one Lily had had for the first gender ultrasound, and he smiled serenely as they went in. Lily laid down and lifted her shirt, Scorpius beside her, and the tech got to work, the little wand showing them a sneak peek of her bean.

And even though they stretched the appointment out as long as possible, to Lily's fury and Scorpius's amusement, they  _still_  were unable to definitively pinpoint the gender. The tech chuckled a little when Lily demanded an opinion from him. "I am sorry, but I cannot say. Your baby is quite stubborn."

"It must be genetic," Scorpius murmured, and Lily shot him a dirty look, even though she had to admit, if only to herself, he wasn't wrong.

The tech left them and Lily wiped goop off her bump, sighing a little at the injustice of it all, and tugged her stretchy black tee down as much as possible over her bump. "Are you finished working?" she asked as she hefted herself up off the little paper lined bed thing.

"I have a meeting later, over dinner," Lily couldn't help but pull a face at that, "but I'll be home before you go to bed," he teased, and the redhead glared.

"You strap thirty extra pounds on and tell me if you want to sleep more than like four hours a night."

Dark grey eyes rolled as they exited the room. "For the record, I always get at least six hours of sleep," he replied and Lily snorted. "But I'm yours until six," he added.

"Good," Lily said, waddling a little as they headed toward the lift. "Because we have to go grocery shopping, because I need crisps." Scorpius forced himself not to laugh by pressing his lips together tightly. "And then I want to do some shopping for my bean. He has almost nothing to wear, and I only have four receiving blankets, and I'm willing to bet I'll need more than that." Scorpius, who'd seen the not-so-little bag of baby things Lily had stashed in his guest room closet, smirked a little, but he was pleased he was being invited along. He had yet to buy anything for their baby, and he was looking forward to the task. Even if it would only be footing the bill for the things Lily decided she would need, it made him feel much better about it all.

Once out in the parking lot, they got into his newly purchased silver BMW, a car that he rather liked, even if it wasn't his dark blue Porsche Turbo 911 convertible, and he drove them to the grocery store near Lily's flat, knowing she liked shopping for food there best, because of the familiarity. And while Scorpius told himself he wasn't doing it for any purpose other than avoiding hearing her bitch about the prices at his usual grocery haunt, he found he couldn't quite believe himself.

Lily tried not to read into the fact he'd gone to her preferred grocery store when he at last parked, but the redheaded woman couldn't help but feel if he'd done so because he knew she liked shopping at the store near her old flat, that was awfully sweet. And her heart crumbled even more in the battle to maintain its protective wall where Scorpius was concerned. Instead of commenting, like part of her was all but bursting to, she merely went in with Scorpius, grabbing a basket out of habit and slinging it over her arm, walking belly first into the store.

"Did you grab the-?" she began, but before she could finish, Scorpius handed her the flyer he'd snatched up as she grabbed the basket. "Let's see what's on sale," she murmured to herself. The blond merely shook his head and rolled dark grey eyes. If he didn't know better, Scorpius would have thought Lily never paid full price for anything. And while that was a good thing, especially as he would wind up paying, it was certainly a foreign experience for him, personally. Hell, before Lily had moved in, Scorpius hadn't even looked at prices while grocery shopping. "Oh, nice, apples are coming into season," she said, and moved over to the display.

Scorpius watched her pick out apples, and then some other produce, lifting the basket from her arm neatly after she put a large jug of chocolate milk into it. They turned down the cans and sauces aisle and Lily hesitated buying pickles, because the name brand variety weren't on sale. "I almost forgot, we need this," Scorpius said, grabbing his favourite sandwich condiment off the shelf and placing it in the basket. Lily's mouth pursed.

"It's not on sale," she said. "And this kind is like almost two dollars less." She pointed at the generic version.

"But this kind is the best," Scorpius said.

Hazel eyes rolled. "You've never even tried this other kind."

"Darling," Scorpius said, moving into her personal bubble, "it's mayonnaise. One never settles for less than Miracle Whip."

"And you probably wouldn't even know the difference if I bought this kind and put it in the other bottle," Lily argued, brows drawing together. "You're paying an extra fifty percent for a  _name_ , Scorpius." The blond shook his head.

"No, I'm paying for what I know I like, and for quality. And this kind comes with more anyway." Lily shook her head back.

"You're daft, it's like twenty five grams more," she said, but let it go. Scorpius watched her turn and bend down to examine the label on something else, and couldn't resist checking out her ass.  _If I'm daft, it's for you_. A half hour, two price checks, and fifty seven dollars later, the blond carried their four grocery bags to his car, unable to quell the smile watching Lily shopping brought. She was impulsive, and a little neurotic, but damn if it wasn't enjoyable.

He expected his baby mama to be just as frugal when they arrived at their next destination, the baby boutique she insisted they hit up. Instead of moving to the clearance rack, though, she headed straight back to the gender neutral section, full of tiny clothes that looked patently too small for anything, even a baby. And everything was pale yellow, and white, and cream, and tan. Scorpius glanced longingly at the little girls' section, because he was tempted to at least  _look_ , but fear of never being invited baby shopping again held him back.

If the blond was honest with himself, he didn't have the balls to go baby shopping alone, because he had almost no clue what would be remotely appropriate, but he had a feeling if he strayed from Lily's side, she'd suspect him up to something. And Scorpius really wanted to get something for their as yet unknown son or daughter. He watched carefully as Lily flicked through a rack of cream and grey three-piece ensembles.

"Oh my god," Lily breathed, looking at a little elephant outfit. The pants were striped grey and cream, the little hoodie and soft grey terry cloth with floppy ears added, and the white onesie had an embroidered elephant with the phrase 'Mummy's Peanut' across the front. "This is adorable," she sighed.

She made to look at the price tag, but Scorpius shook his head. "No looking at prices," he said firmly, and covered the tag.

Lily almost glared, but tried very carefully to sound calm when she replied, "Scorpius, I have to look at the price. I'm on a budget."

"No, you're not," he said, and as her mouth parted and her brows shot up, he lifted the little outfit from her hands. "This  _is_ bloody adorable, and you're getting it. And you might have a budget, but I don't," he said quietly. "So pick whatever you like." She opened her mouth to inform him she didn't need his charity, or want him just buying their baby whatever, but then the blond, his dark grey eyes fixed on hers and shining with emotion, added, "Please don't deny me the chance to spoil the bean, Lily. I've missed enough as it is, and I want to do this for you. For her." His palm smoothed over her belly, and Lily felt her heart rise into her throat, choking her with emotion.

"You mean him," she whispered, her voice croaky with the effort at holding in her tears. Scorpius grinned.

"No, I mean her," he teased, then kissed her, whisper soft, on the corner of her mouth. "But since you refuse to believe that the bean is a girl, come get me when you're ready to check out, darling."

He kissed her again, properly this time, making her heart clench painfully around the three words she wasn't allowed to say out loud, and she had to physically bite her tongue to hold them in check. Because if he kept on being sweet, Lily knew she'd slip up sooner or later. And that was a terrifying thought, because she was almost positive he'd ever feel the same.

So she focused on getting the items on her mental checklist she kept, and tried not to glance around too frequently as Scorpius wandered around the store, smirking at the occasional toy he found amusing, or looking through racks of pink and purple clothing she was certain would be a waste of money.  _It's his money, let him blow it if he wants_.

"Do we need this?" Scorpius asked when she finally came over, having spotted him by a display of car seat blanket things, that stayed on the seat and negated the need for jackets or heavy clothing in transport from car to home and back in the cold.

"Um," Lily said, because she hadn't thought about it, but it seemed like it would be unbearably handy now that she'd seen it. "That depends," she hedged.

"On?" Scorpius prompted, looking down at her.

"Does it come in any colour other than pink?" she asked, because there was only a pink one displayed. The blond smirked.

"There's also blue, grey, and what appears to be some kind of black and white pattern." He pointed the packaged ones out, and Lily couldn't help but rather like the black and white zig-zag stripe.

"And is it compatible with the car seat we-?" She stopped short, about to say 'picked out', but she hadn't really picked anything. She'd had her heart set on the one he'd gotten, certainly, but she knew it was a top of the line seat, and had probably cost a small fortune. She'd been planning to ask for it from her parents for her baby shower, in truth, before Scorpius had gotten it himself.

"Of course," Scorpius said. "So?"

"I think it'll be handy," Lily admitted, feeling guilty when Scorpius picked up the package and looked at the price sticker on the back. "But it's not really a  _necessity_ ," she added.

"Of course it is," he said dismissively. "Can't have the baby catching cold." Lily sucked in a breath, but didn't comment as he picked up the black and white patterned one and turned to face her fully. "Are you ready?"

"I think so," she said, looking down at her armload of purchases.

"Good," Scorpius said, and she gulped when he put a gentle hand at her lower back, steering her toward the till. "Because those ice cream sandwiches you insisted upon buying are probably going to be melted if you take any longer, Lily."

"They were on sale!" she said, sounding a little offended, even as she plonked her baby things down on the counter. A young girl who barely looked old enough to know how babies were made, let alone work at a shop for them, started scanning items, looking bored and mild repulsed when she glanced at Lily's belly. Scorpius sent the girl a scathing look, because he wasn't oblivious to the way the young woman looked at him as if wondering what the hell he was doing with some pregnant chick.

"And thank God for that," he rumbled, pulling her close, feeling the heat from her blush, and added huskily against her ear, "because otherwise I might be bankrupt."

"You would not be," she breathed logically, and he couldn't help but feel his cock stir in his pants as Lily wet her lips. "You're practically filthy rich."

Scorpius grinned a little. "I wouldn't be if you insisted upon buying ice cream bars at full price."

"You're such a prick," she replied, but the blond noticed she sounded decidedly pleased by that statement.

"I'll show you precisely how much when we get home," he added, and his cock sprang to attention in his trousers when Lily pulled away, smiling coyly.

"Let's hope so," she said, and grinned at him, and Scorpius had to resist the urge to pull her against himself and snog her silly. He told himself firmly they were merely the parents of the same child who occasionally had sex, and nothing more, unless she should choose for them to be more, and lusting after her, and her ripe, delicious figure that tempted and turned him on more than ever, was simply foolish. Because she'd made it clear she was only satisfying her hormones with him, and anything else was out of the question. And even though he kind of hated it, he couldn't help but take shameless advantage of whatever hormones she chose to vent through him and settle for naught else, because he knew, deep down, there couldn't ever really be more with Lily.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Lily had all but forgotten she was going to tell her parents and James and Priscilla the truth behind her baby daddy's identity. As she got dressed for Sunday dinner at her parents' house, she hummed happily to herself, feeling decidedly pretty in her new blouse that fit comfortably and complimented her decidedly round figure.

Scorpius was stuck in meetings, so Lily took the bus from his condo to her parent's house. She didn't bother knocking after waddling up the front walk, and headed, through habit and with a starving belly, toward the kitchen where the scent of roast beef hung thick in the air, making her mouth water in anticipation. "Hi, Mum, hi Dad," she said cheerfully. Her mother was sliding the Yorkshire pudding into the oven and Lily actually wiped her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling.

"Hello, honey!" Ginny said, closing the oven door as she turned, and hugged her daughter tightly. "Oh, Lily, honey, you look so pretty," she gushed, and the redhead beamed. "And how is the baby? Tell me everything. Come have a seat."

"Baby's great," she said, settling in her usual seat at the kitchen table and rubbing her bump lovingly.

"So am I getting another grandson or granddaughter?" Ginny asked, smirking. Harry Potter looked up from the paper he was scowling at with interest and Lily blew out a sigh.

"No clue," the younger redhead grumbled. "He's being frustratingly evasive at every ultrasound."

Ginny smiled indulgently. "Or she," Harry said pointedly. Hazel eyes rolled, but Lily smiled.

"Now you sound like Sc-" Lily stopped herself before she let the cat out of the bag, all at once remembering that she was supposed to tell her parents the identity of her baby's father.

"Like who, honey?" her mother asked, mashing potatoes now. Lily felt her face lighting up guiltily with a dark blush, all but burning her, and looked away from her father's probing emerald gaze.

"Um," she hedged, because there wasn't really any polite way to say what she had to say. Before she could think of what to possibly say, James and Priscilla, with Liam and Viola charging ahead, burst into the kitchen, saving Lily from replying as the children swarmed Ginny for hugs and Harry for sweets they knew would be hiding in his pockets. She let out a sigh of relief and hugged Priscilla, who also commented on her glowing complexion and Lily's new top as she patted her bump lovingly. "So what's the verdict?" her sister in law demanded once the kids had scampered off and James had pilfered yet another of his father's best beers and they'd sat at the table. "Niece or nephew?"

"Still anyone's guess," Lily said with a grimace, because although she'd give her right arm to know, and she was still convinced it was a boy, the redhead knew everyone else wanted to know just as badly, if not more.

"Oh, boo!" Priscilla said, frowning, and James chuckled.

"Typical Weasley," he said, slanting their mum a look, and Ginny laughed too.

"They told me you'd be a girl, James," she shot back, and Harry snorted a little, glancing back at his paper. Lily laughed long and hard as her brother scowled.

"Good thing medical science has come so far in the last thirty or so years, then, isn't it, Mum?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, then looked back at Lily. "So Lily, honey, what were you saying before?"

The redhead wet her lips, because suddenly four pairs of eyes were fixed on her. "Oh, um, nothing important, really," she mumbled, and felt her baby kick her as punishment for lying, no doubt. "Er, I was just going to say, um…" She trailed off, looking away, and fiddled with a hank of dark red hair, twisting it nervously around a finger.

She almost jumped when Albus said, from the doorway, "What were you going to say, Lils?"

Hazel eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and she grit her teeth, and then all her courage deserted her when Albus, looking pleased as fucking punch, walked into their parents' kitchen, followed by the tall handsome blond man who'd fathered her baby. And when she met Scorpius's dark grey gaze, Lily was all but positive her face had never burned hotter or more red. She dropped her eyes and stared at her hands, frowning a little as she saw herself wringing them nervously, and clenched her fists instead. "Nothing," she said softly, and peeked back up to find Albus smirking, James and Priscilla looking suspiciously between her and Scorpius, and her parents with confused faces.

"Holy shit," Priscilla breathed, eyes huge, clearly reaching the conclusion without Lily saying a word, and the redhead shot her sister in law a pleading look. "Oh, I mean, uh-"

"Priscilla, dear, do mind your language," Ginny chastised gently, then looked at Albus, who was still smirking with smug triumph, sharply. "Albus, come in and sit, honey. And Scorpius, so nice to see you." Both men dispensed the perfunctory motherly cheek kisses before seating themselves, the latter shaking Harry Potter's hand firmly in greeting. "Dinner's just about ready, everyone. James, be a dear and get my grandbabies?"

Lily blew out a breath, because she was positive her parents and James knew something was up, but everyone pushed through the tense, awkward atmosphere. Albus seemed tickled pink. Lily barely refrained from kicking him under the table, and although she could feel Scorpius staring at her, his dark, roiling eyes branding her with their intensity, she resisted the strong urge to look up and smile across at him.

Once everyone had been seated and dinner was served, Lily braced herself for Albus's onslaught. Instead, her younger older brother merely sat back and ate with gusto, letting Ginny and Priscilla lead the conversation. Lily only half listened as they shared thoughts and finalized arrangements concerning the younger redhead's impending baby shower the next day. Lily tried to focus on the delicious quality of the food, but she couldn't help but feel a little queasy, waiting on tenterhooks for Albus to ruin her dinner and life.

It wasn't until Lily had cleared her plate, although it had been generous to say the least, that her brother struck. "Are you going to this shindig?" Albus said, rather louder than was strictly warranted, in an aside to Scorpius as Ginny gushed about the cooking they would be doing all the next morning.

And, like lightning, James demanded, "Why the hell would Malfoy go?" Lily glanced at her father, feeling her very full stomach drop heavily, and she felt sick for real as Harry Potter's dark brows drew sharply together.

"Yeah, Al," Scorpius replied lightly. "Baby showers are for women."

Priscilla shot Lily a pitying look just as Albus said, pulling a confused face, "I'd have thought my sister would make you come."

Lily blushed dark again as all eyes flicked to her, and she sucked in a ragged breath, heart pounding. "Of course not," she said. Lily hadn't planned, in the slightest, to invite Scorpius to her baby shower, considering no one knew he'd fathered her as yet unborn child, and she didn't much want him to come now that her immediate family  _would_ know.

"Why would you think that?" James asked, looking equally pissed he was obviously missing something and confused. Scorpius looked, to Lily at least, with annoyance at Albus, and said something to his best mate under his breath.

Albus grinned. "Why do I think that, Lily?" the dark haired, green eyed man prompted, and Lily did kick him under the table now. His smile turned into a teeth-gritting grimace for a second, to Lily's pleasure.

"Because you're an asshole," she growled, then looked at her mother. "Um, that's what I was going to say before," she said quickly, trying to ignore her embarrassment. "That Dad sounded like... " She paused, gulped, and forged ahead, still staring into her mother's warm chocolate brown eyes because she was too afraid to look at her father. "Like Scorpius. Because he's pretty much convinced my baby is a girl." Lily cleared her throat, feeling awful as her mother's brow furrowed. "Which probably sounds crazy," she mumbled, "but it's because…" Her courage was fading fast, and she knew, as her mother almost glared with mounting confusion, she would never say it without being blunt. "He's the father. Scorpius is my baby's dad."

There was a beat of silence, and then little Liam, who'd been ignoring the conversation entirely as he tried to build a mashed potato volcano around his gravy, looked at Lily directly. "Does that make Scorpius my uncle, if he's my cousin's dad, Aunty?" he asked with innocent ignorance.

Lily smiled, even as her eyes filled with tears. "Kind of, buddy," she said lightly, and then hazarded a look at Scorpius, who looked like he was considering walking out.

Liam looked at Scorpius, shrugged, and then said to his mum, "I hope so, Mummy. Then I'll get more presents on my birthday."

Albus snorted a laugh at his nephew, even as Lily sucked in a wobbly breath. Priscilla patted Lily's hand comfortingly, and the younger redhead looked at Ginny Potter, who was merely blinking, mouth ever so slightly parted, obviously in shock. Lily looked at her father, who seemed equally as shocked, although stony faced, fork half poised in the air between mouth and plate.

"Surprise," Lily said, a traitorous tear spilling over and streaking down her still pink cheek. She looked back at her mother. "Please tell me there's chocolate cake for dessert, otherwise I'm leaving."

"Of course, honey," Ginny said automatically. "I know you love it," she said, and then let out a breath. "Oh Lily, honey," she said, half rising and moving to embrace her daughter.

"Are you fu-bloody serious?" James asked, sounding as shocked as Ginny and Harry had looked to Lily.

"Yes," Lily said lightly, and looked at Scorpius, who hadn't said anything since her rather blatant confession. "And while my flat's being fixed, you remember I told you all about the fire, I've been staying with Scorpius, at his place," she added, and the silence was deafening, shattered only by the sound of her father's fork dropping heavily onto his plate.

She'd told her family all about the fire, caused by an elderly lady leaving her dinner in the oven while she went out to bingo with friends, but had glossed over where she was staying during reconstruction with a purposely vague 'with a friend'. Her parents had been more alarmed she'd almost been in harm's way than where she might be staying, and while they, as well as James and Priscilla, both had offered their spare room, Lily had merely shaken her head at the kindness. Now part of her was wishing she'd just bloody stayed with her brother and sister in law, or maye even her parents, although that had seemed damn near unbearably. Because she felt as if she'd betrayed her family, although she hadn't precisely lied. It was simply that her 'friend' was more like a friend with benefits who'd knocked her up.

"That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" Albus said darkly, and Priscilla shot him a deadly look.

"Not at all," Lily replied, and sent Scorpius an equally scathing look. "So, Mum, can we have cake now?"

The tense atmosphere from dinner lingered as Lily caught a ride back to Scorpius's flat with him, feeling equally pissed he'd pretty much left her to fend off the resulting questions after her announcement, and hurt that he obviously hadn't felt the need to take any of the heat. Even though she knew, for a fact, her parents and eldest brother, and even Priscilla, had glanced at him questioningly more than once. At last, as they pulled up to a red light, Scorpius reached over and placed his hand upon hers on the little armrest console thing between the front seats.

Lily's brows lifted, lip curling, and she silently withdrew her hand. "You could've said something back there, y'know," she tossed out acidly, feeling close to tears and wanting to shout at the stupid blond fucker who'd stolen her heart. "I mean," she continued at his silence, "if you didn't want to look like an absolute piece of shit, of course."

"And what, pray tell, was I supposed to say?" Scorpius asked stiffly as they pulled away from the light.

"Anything!" Lily snapped, turning to face him. "Anything at all! But no, of course not. You let me handle that shit all on my fucking own."

The blond's mouth tightened, and Lily saw him readjust his grip on the steering wheel. "Do you honestly think any input I may have had would have been even remotely positively received?" he drawled, and Lily balled her fists, teeth gritting.

"How should I know?" she shot back. "You didn't even try!"

"You're right," Scorpius said after a beat. "I didn't. Because I didn't want to make things any more awkward or difficult for you," he said quietly. "Even if it makes me a piece of shit." Lily felt her anger fading, hurt replacing it, because that thought hadn't ever occurred to her. That he'd been trying to act out of preservation for her, instead of himself. "It was bad enough, getting the fourth degree from Albus on the way over," the blond added, and Lily bit her lip, because she could imagine it hadn't been pleasant.

"Still," she mumbled, trying to rile her temper again with little success.

"Still," Scorpius agreed on a sigh, and Lily shifted in the seat. "Have I ever mentioned your brother can be an asshole?"

A corner of the redhead's mouth quirked up. "Not that I recall," she admitted. "But I kind of already knew that."

Scorpius looked across at her as they slowed with traffic, and half smiled, looking unbearably sexy to Lily, and her pulse thudded heavily in her chest as molten desire, ramped up with baby hormones, flowed through her veins. "I'll bet."

Lily smirked a tiny bit. "It's okay, though," she murmured. "Al's going to get the asshole treatment back tenfold when I tell him he's not going to be godfather for the bean." Scorpius chuckled and reached for her hand again, and Lily turned her palm up, lacing their fingers in a silent declaration of the words she couldn't bring herself to say. "Unless you'd like the honors yourself."

"Oh no, darling. I wouldn't dream of denying you the pleasure."

XXX


	11. Hot and Cold

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Eleven - Hot and Cold

Scorpius sat up, hearing someone prowling through his kitchen. He assumed it was Lily, and swung his legs out of bed, pulling on some pyjama pants quickly to cover his nudity. When he shuffled into the kitchen, smothering a yawn, he indeed found Lily, her very large belly protruding from under the hem of her lime green tank top and he felt his cock twitch when he saw her erect nipples poking out proudly as she stood before the refrigerator. She rubbed her belly, staring at the contents of the fridge, and sighed.

"Why are you awake?" he asked roughly. The microwave declared it two forty seven. She looked round, startled, and then smiled sheepishly.

"I had a dream about eating, and woke up starving. But I don't know what to eat." Scorpius smirked a little bit, surprised she hadn't gone to the cupboard for crisps. He was pretty sure she was addicted to the dill pickle flavoured ones, because they magically disappeared from the cupboard and then appeared in grocery bags when Lily came back from walks or tea with Rose.

"What were you eating in your dream?" he asked curiously.

"Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream bars," she said, and rubbed her belly again. "Probably because I finished off the box this morning after breakfast." Scorpius hummed, mesmerized by the lazy circle her small hand traced across her belly, and he watched the distended bump wobble. Lily groaned. "He's getting too big," she sighed. Dark grey eyes rolled, because Lily was still convinced the baby was a boy, despite no evidence, because every ultrasound, the baby hadn't cooperated. "Do we have those ice cream sandwiches left?"

"Yes," Scorpius said, and Lily beamed, opening the freezer and looking for the box.

"Where?" she demanded, lifting onto her tippy toes to look in the back, shifting a few things around. Scorpius didn't know, but he moved closer to look, if only so Lily could have her snack and they could go back to bed. Preferably together.

"Right here," he said, lifting the slightly dented box from the back, out from under the bag of frozen peas.

"Mmm," she said in anticipation, taking the box and ripping it open, pulling out her frozen treat. Scorpius privately thought the same, except about her. He smoothed his hands over her very large bump, trying not to be as aroused as he was. The blond couldn't fathom it, but somehow seeing and feeling their baby inside her was the biggest turn on, and the plump ripeness that radiated out around her luscious body was the proverbial cherry on top. Especially her delicious, full, always hard nippled breasts. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked, holding her half-eaten ice cream sandwich aloft, smiling confusedly.

"It's hard not to," he mumbled, watching her lick the ice cream that oozed out the side of her treat.

"Now I know what ice cream bars feel like when they see me coming," she teased.

He grinned, feeling sleepy and horny and thoroughly in love with the amazing woman growing their child. "Lucky ice cream bars," Scorpius murmured, and the redhead blushed.

"Stop," she said softly and with almost no conviction, then took out another ice cream sandwich, and put the rest back, closing up the fridge and freezer at last. "This should hit the spot," she said, tearing the plastic off, and Scorpius grinned as she hummed her enjoyment, leaning against the marble countertop.

"See what I mean?" he murmured, moving in close. He bent his head to kiss her neck persuasively, and curved himself around their baby, grabbing her plump arse. She tilted her neck to afford him better access, still eating her ice cream sandwich. "They get the sexy, determined, 'I'm going to devour you' looks and they get to make you sigh and groan and hit your spots."

Her blush deepened, hard nipples aching pleasurably. "Mmm, you get other things," she said huskily. He grunted, slipping his hands inside pyjama pants she'd nicked from him and commandeered as her own, grabbing handfuls of ass, loving her gasp of delight.

"This is true," he rumbled, kissing her thundering pulse. Even if that wasn't quite as much as he'd like, because he wanted  _all_  of her. He pulled back to look at her, and she lifted the last bite of ice cream sandwich into her mouth, a dollop of vanilla ice cream dropping onto her cleavage.

"Shoot," she murmured, licking the chocolate cookie residue from her fingers, and Scorpius, before she could move to get the ice cream wiped up, dipped his head and licked it off the luscious curve of her breast.

"Yum," he groaned, achingly hard.

"Unh," she grunted, and pulled him forward roughly, crashing their mouths together. Scorpius groaned, because their teeth kind of clicked together painfully, but then she was suckling his lower lip, nibbling it erotically, and he was lost. "Bedroom?" she panted when he broke away at last.

"Too far," Scorpius said decisively, and shoved her pants down, then lifted her up onto the counter, tugging her tank top down to lavish her breasts greedily with his mouth. Lily moaned, clutching him, and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. The baby kept him too far for her liking and she growled her frustration. The sound turned into a yelp when his fingers caressed her through her panties and then slipped inside. "Fuck, Lily, please tell me you want this, darling," he groaned, and Lily almost laughed.

"I  _really_  want this," she breathed, and reached down and grasped his cock through his pyjama pants, stroking teasingly. He moaned, then pushed her hand away.

"If you keep doing that, you're not going to get the full experience of that," he growled, and then kissed her ravenously, even as she gripped him harder on instinct.

"Mmm, I wouldn't want that to happen," she purred, and released him, moving to nip his pulse point, eliciting another growl of approval. He pulled roughly at her sensitive nipples and she cried out. "And it's not going to happen if you don't hurry up," she added, laying back on the countertop.

"Don't worry, darling, I won't disappoint."

Lily was far from disappointed when he finished with her, after getting her off twice, and the redhead gulped, because it had been almost impossible that time, to hold back the urge to tell him she loved him. He was, as Rose had pointed out what felt like forever ago, the perfect baby daddy, and also so much more on top of that. He was considerate, and thoughtful, and organized, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized she really couldn't have asked for anyone better to co-parent with her. And even though she hadn't asked, it made her feel better that Scorpius would be able to work with her, opposed to the one thing she hoped to prevent.

"Now it's time for the bedroom," Scorpius murmured, and Lily finally slid off the counter, and waddled ahead of him. With only six weeks left to go, the redhead was starting to feel the strain of childbearing, and was looking forward to holding her bean. Even if they  _still_  didn't know the gender. She moved automatically to her room, and smiled a little when Scorpius followed her. And the moment she laid her head down on the pillow, Lily fell into a deep, sated sleep.

Lily laid in the comforting embrace of a strong male arm that circled her baby bump protectively when she awoke the next morning, and sighed, feeling utterly at peace and thoroughly content. And, to shatter the blissful moment, her baby kicked her full bladder, hard, and she lurched upright with the urge to pee. She was half out of bed when the sharp contraction around her belly gripped her, scaring her more than anything, and although it faded, Lily was sent instantly into panic mode. "Oh my God, oh my God, Scorpius, get up, now!" she growled. The blond grunted in his sleep. The redhead felt anger jolt through her, and she punched the sexy, sleeping blond hard in the abdomen. "Scorpius!"

"What?" he said, frowning, and dark grey eyes opened blearily.

"I just had a contraction."

For a moment, the blond just stared at her, looking confused as to where they were, what she was talking about, and, if possible, why he'd been punched awake. And then, in an instant, she saw it all click together in his brain. His eyes went wide, jaw dropping, and sat up. "What?' he said. "When?"

"Just now," she said, feeling her anxiety peaking as she could see the blond starting to freak out himself.

"How long was it? Was it bad? Isn't it too early for all this? Should we call an ambulance?" Suddenly his eyes went huge. At least more huge than they'd been. "Holy shit, you have to go to a hospital, we can't have a baby here," he said.

Lily grimaced. "I don't think there's going to be any baby anytime soon," she said, and sucked in a breath. Obviously she would have to be the calm, cool, collected one. "It might be false labour, but I don't know. I've never done this before."

Scorpius frowned. "Better safe than sorry," he said sternly, and slid out of bed. Lily rubbed her bump.

"Scorpius, relax, my water hasn't even broken," she said logically.

The blond shook his head. "No time to waste." Hazel eyes rolled, because now, with nothing else forthcoming she felt silly for freaking out and waking him up in the first place.

"Well, have fun driving yourself to the hospital, because I'm not going," she said lightly. "And," she said, getting up properly and moving toward the bathroom, "even if my water  _does_  break, I'll probably still have loads of time."

Scorpius pushed both hands through his hair and took a deep breath. "Lily," he said, following her into the loo, even as she sat on the toilet, "this really isn't the time to be stubborn and bullheaded. If you're going into  _labour_ , we need to get you to a hospital."

"Scorpius," she replied, sending him a dirty look and mimicking his tone of forced calm, "I'm not in labour. It was probably just because I moved the wrong way. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." She rolled her eyes, because she could feel the blond's agitation, even from four feet away.

"Humour me," he said. Lily did roll her eyes now. "At least call the doctor, then."

"The office isn't even open yet," Lily said dismissively as she stood up off the toilet. "It's Friday," she added. Because she'd had her second, loathable glucose test on Wednesday, and that was two days ago. "How about we compromise by you Googling the crap out of whatever you think I need to be rushed to the hospital for, because I'm fairly positive I'm not in labour, and if you can show me sufficient evidence that it's necessary, I'll go."

"That hardly seems fair," Scorpius said, scowling slightly, but indeed, pulled out his phone and started searching up false labour.

A few hours later, after Scorpius had perused just about every webpage he could find, and read up, extensively, on false labour, and nothing more had come after Lily's initial contraction, he'd accepted she was probably right, and real labour wasn't imminent. So, with a kiss from his redheaded lover and the mother of his, as yet, unborn child, Scorpius set off, still feeling edgy, to an early lunch with his two best mates. While he was still on slightly unsettled terms with Albus, Scorpius knew Chris would be the perfect buffer, allowing them to, at least momentarily, unite in belittling the dark haired European when his mouth would undoubtedly get a foot or two shoved in it. Chris was already there when he got to the restaurant.

"You look like shit," Scorpius said, because he could see his close friend had obviously been out drinking the night before in his red eyes and yesterday's five o'clock shadow. Chris merely grinned.

"You look like the proverbial cat who got the cream," he shot back. "And speaking of which, how is Little Potter?"

Scorpius frowned as he sat, tempted to tell Chris to go fuck himself. Instead, he said blandly, "She's well," and tried not to think how much he almost loathed that nickname he and Albus and Chris had hung upon Lily for the sole fact she'd been the green eyed man's little sister.

Chris's eyes crinkled and he smirked. "Then again, from what I hear, she's not so little anymore."

The blond man couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit smugly at that. "In the best way."

"Oh no, from what I hear she's almost as big as a house." Scorpius scowled, and then Albus entered the restaurant, and Chris waved to him. "And unless you want a black eye, you probably shouldn't mention, to Al anyway, that you've fallen for her," he added sagely.

Before Scorpius, who couldn't help but reveal his surprise in lifted brows, could reply, Albus said loudly, "You two look like you're having a bad first date."

"You'd be the expert on those," Chris quipped and Scorpius forced himself to be normal, even if he couldn't help but wonder how his friend had figured it out and worry Albus might do the same.

"Apparently now I am," Albus said, giving Scorpius a darkly significant look as he sat down. The blond simply shrugged.

"You gents ready to order?" asked a bubbly waitress before the silence could get uncomfortable. The relief was palpable.

"You bet, gorgeous," Chris replied, and orders were placed for beers and burgers. An hour and a half later, after Scorpius and Albus had tag teamed Chris into submission, teasing him about his lack of a date for the weekend, and speculating playfully about how he'd end up old and perverted alone someday, the blond felt on much better terms with his best mate. And, after a few token jibes, Albus had seemed to be over the fact Scorpius was having his filthy way with his little sister after knocking her up.

In fact, as they parted ways outside, he merely said, "Tell Lily I said hi."

All in all, Scorpius was in a decidedly good mood as he made his way back to his condo, and even smiled to himself a little as he went up the elevator. He unlocked his front door, and paused, because something felt off. He went to hang up his coat and put his shoes away when he realized Lily's boots and coat were missing.

He frowned, wondering where she could've gone, and moved into the kitchen to see if she'd left a note, which was her habit if she went out when he was expected back, and frowned, because there was nothing. The kitchen was spotless, as if his cleaning lady had come, and the blond frowned some more, moving into the living room. He still felt as though something weren't right.

And then, as he stood in the middle of his living room, looking at everything in its place, so neat and orderly, it hit him. All the things that would normally be out of place, things that belonged to Lily, were gone. His feet carried him effortlessly, as though in a dream, to the second bedroom, and he was fairly certain he stopped breathing. Because now it was obvious. Lily had packed up and left while he was at lunch.

He winced, because he realized in that instant that it was the first of November. All their bets and deals and negotiations had been nullified. She would go back to her fixed up flat and he would stay here, in the perfectly pristine misery of being utterly alone and too far away from her. Anger reared its head, and before he could think on the wisdom of it, Scorpius whipped out his phone and called Lily.

"Hello?" Lily puffed, having half waddled and half jogged to grab the phone from the bedroom, quickly detouring back to the bathroom. She'd finally gotten the bulk of her stuff unloaded, and had a small mountain in her sitting room to put away and attempt to organize. Which, with her heart feeling heavier than she was, seemed a daunting task.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Scorpius demanded. Lily frowned, because he sounded furious.

"Do what?" she asked blankly. The baby kicked, and hard, but Lily paused despite a full bladder because it hit her then, what Scorpius was talking about. "Oh," she said blankly.

"Did you just pack up and leave without saying anything because I was out?" he said, and although the worse were harsh, and a tad rude, honestly, Lily could hear the hurt beneath them.

"I didn't-" She cut herself off, before she said something stupid. Because she hadn't thought he'd really notice, or much care. "I didn't do it on purpose," she murmured. "The timing just sort of worked out that way. And, y'know, it's November. I had to come back here to get all my shit sorted before the baby comes." She knew she didn't have to explain, but she couldn't help it. "And I had Rose help me, but she only had an hour before her meetings, and I…" The redhead trailed off, because she simply  _couldn't_  admit she wouldn't have been able to do it if Scorpius was there, because she'd never have the courage to with his compelling dark grey eyes watching her. And the thought of him helping her get out of his flat, and mostly out of his life, was painful to the extreme. "I just had to get my stuff here," she mumbled lamely.

There was a long, tense pause. "Alright," Scorpius said at last. Lily licked her lips, pushing a hand through her hair, barely biting back the urge to tell him she didn't  _want_  to go, especially now that she was back in her bland, lifeless flat. "I'll send on anything you might've missed," he added coolly, and Lily felt her heart drop.

"Sure," she said quietly.

"See you on Thursday," he murmured, and she felt a burst of elation, because she almost forgotten they had her thirty six week appointment.

"See you then," she murmured, and rang off, at last going pee, and trudging back to her sitting room. The few boxes and several bags of her stuff, along with her disassembled cot, sat glaring back at her, and the redhead couldn't help it as she burst into tears. Because if that wasn't the last nail in the coffin of her pretend relationship with Scorpius, she didn't know what would be.

By the time Thursday rolled around, Lily had mostly gotten her baby things set up the way she liked, with the assistance of Rose and her mother, and they'd made a cute little nursery corner in her bedroom, and the elder redhead had taken her grocery shopping, although Lily had drawn the line at having her mother pay, even if she agreed to carrying only things like bread and crisps upstairs.

She was just stepping out of the shower when her cell phone rang, and she frowned, wondering who would call her at eight thirty on a Thursday morning. A smile tilted her lips up for the first time that morning as she saw it was Scorpius. "Hey," she said, picking up. "Is this supposed to be my wake up call?" She couldn't help the teasing edge in her voice, because she hadn't heard from Scorpius since she'd moved out of his condo, and she'd, quite honestly, missed him horrendously in the moments her mind was free from baby thoughts.

"I suppose. Why, are you just getting up?" Scorpius asked in a rough voice, sounding like he'd just woken up himself. Lily tried to ignore the gush of arousal that mental imagery brought, Scorpius in bed, all warm and sleepy, and probably hard and horny, with his stubble from the day before and those dark grey eyes roving over her, and- _No_!

"No," she said thickly, wetting her lips. "I just got out of the shower."

Scorpius grunted softly, and for an instant, Lily felt a white hot flash of jealousy, because if he had another woman in bed while talking to her, she'd probably- "Now that is a tempting thought to wake up to, darling," he rumbled. She sucked in a wobbly breath, nipples achingly hard under her towel. "Did you want to meet with me before your appointment? For breakfast?" She told herself she was being silly, because there was  _no way_  he meant she'd be the breakfast. Even if that's where her mind went straight away.

"Sure," she said, feeling a surge of lust just thinking about pancakes. "Archie's Diner?" she said, moving to get dressed.

"You read my mind. I'll swing by and pick you up in twenty minutes."

"See you then," she said brightly, and rang off, trying to convince herself it wasn't a date. Even if she took special care to put on her nicest leggings and tank, and even going so far as to apply perfume. She couldn't be bothered with her hair, so she twirled it up and stuck a massive clip in it, then spent ten minutes tidying her flat because she was way too nervous to sit and wait for Scorpius.

Eighteen minutes later, there was a knock on her door, and Lily opened the portal up, beaming, and felt distinctly let down that it was only her neighbours, Mike and Beth, standing before her. "Oh, hi," she said, forcing a smile as hers fell slightly.

"I told you she'd be back!" said little Beth, who was a good head shorter than Lily, to her massive boyfriend. "Mike didn't think you still lived here," she said, beaming up at Lily.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm still here," she said lightly, biting her lip. "I was just, erm, staying with a friend for awhile."

"Well either way, I'm glad you're back," Mike said. "Better than another old bird like the one from one B."

"We wanted to bring you this," Beth said, holding out a small package wrapped in mint green and baby pink bow patterned paper.

"You didn't have to-" Lily began, touched her neighbours had gotten her what appeared to be a baby gift.

"Don't be silly, honey, I've had five of my own. You never say no to free shit," Beth interrupted dismissively. "Anyway, it's nothing special, but I have a feeling you'll need it at some point, and wish you'd thought of it. And I'm sure you've already had your baby shower, but better late than never, I say. By the way, did you ever find out the gender?"

"Let her breathe, Beth," Mike said, smiling. "No need to open it now, kiddo."

Lily smiled, feeling a little misty eyed, and hugged Beth, then Mike. "Thank you, that's really sweet," she murmured, and then looked over as someone ascended the stairs and turned down the hallway. "Scorpius!" she said, unable to smother her bright smile as the tall blond paused, taking in the scene. "Sorry, I literally almost forgot," she mumbled, feeling silly, and turned to her neighbours, who looked curiously, and in Mike's case a little menacingly, at Scorpius.

"Oh, don't let us keep you, honey. Anyway, see you around! And don't forget to let me see that baby the second you bring him home," Beth said, and all but pushed her man toward their door. "Say goodbye, Mike!"

"See you later, kiddo," Mike said gruffly, even as Beth opened their door. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will," Lily said, and glanced up as Scorpius approached.

"What's that?" he asked, indicating the gift in her hands, and Lily smiled, looking down at it. "Oh, this is from Mike and Beth. I'm not really sure what it is, but it's for the bean," she said, rubbing her bump lovingly with her free hand. Scorpius's face, when she glanced back up at it, was unreadable.

"That was nice of them."

"It was," she agreed, ducking into her flat to grab her coat and put the present on the little table that held keys and random pocket contents by her front door. "Um, thanks for taking me to breakfast," she said to break the moderately awkward silence as they headed back downstairs.

"My pleasure," Scorpius said, smiling as she waddled past while he held the front door for her. "Oh," he added as they got into his silver BMW, "I almost forgot to mention, you left your hair dryer at my place. Do you want it back?"

Lily almost laughed as she did up her belt. She hadn't even recalled bringing her hair dryer. "Sure," she said. "Did you bring it?"

"No, it's still in my bathroom," he replied, pulling into traffic seamlessly, heading toward Archie's. "You can grab it after your appointment, if you like," he said easily, flicking the heater up a smidge on her side.

Lily unzipped her coat. "Sure," she said again, smiling goofily. "Sorry, I didn't think I missed anything."

"Don't be," he replied, and glanced at her as they pulled to a stop for a red light. "I just don't want you going out with wet hair and catching a cold or something. That might be bad for the baby, after all," he said.

Lily barely refrained from rolling her eyes, but felt oddly at peace as she settled back in the passenger seat of his car. "Probably," she murmured, because while she was willing to bet her bean would be fine, it would indeed suck to get sick and not be able to take anything for it.

Scorpius couldn't resist tracing the curves of her luscious breasts just visible under her coat and tank top, and told himself he was being foolish, and petty, and even a little creepy by holding the half dozen random objects he'd unearthed in the four days since Lily had last lived with him ransom to find excuses to see her. But it was because he  _missed_  her goddamnit! And she was so obviously happy without him, it would be an absolute dick move to insist she come back and stay with him. And she obviously needed to get herself and her baby things prepared for the imminent arrival of their bean.

But he still had a throw pillow, the little cactus from her room, a purple sock, a pack of bobby pins, and a bag of random baby outfits she'd purchased at some point and left in the hall closet to give back. And the blond was determined that he would use them all to gain more precious time with Lily before he had nothing to tie them together except the life growing inside her. And, if he was truly honest with himself, Scorpius knew he'd probably use the baby, too, as an excuse to see Lily, and spend time with her. Because, god fucking  _damn it_ , he loved her, and was too selfish to let her go.

XXX


	12. A New Dawn, A New Day

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** The following chapter contains dramatized events that may or may not resemble actual childbirth. Reader discretion is advised for the faint of heart. And please, before you tell me all about the glaring errors made regarding childbearing, postpartum events, and newborn behaviours, in this chapter and henceforth, I already know. Like seriously, I know. It's fiction, y'all. Thanks! :)

XXX

Chapter Twelve - A New Dawn, A New Day

Scorpius cursed, loud and colourfully, and slammed a fist into the steering wheel as traffic slowed to a snail's pace around him, and he honked furiously at the driver ahead of him, who wasn't at all at fault, and honked back. He tried to take deep calming breaths, but he couldn't help but read the text message again in his mind.  _I think the baby's coming, you better get here fast, Romeo! Lily's at eight centimeters, and if you're not here when she gets to ten, I'm going to break your hand, because she's almost crushed mine. Where are you!?_

That was the third he'd gotten from Rose that day. The first was that morning, informing him Lily wasn't induced, but they'd broken her water about ten minutes previous, but nothing was happening. The second came as he was taking an early lunch, intending to call Lily and check in. She'd apparently gone into labour, but her contractions were still irregular, she was only four centimeters, and Lily had said not to bother coming, because still nothing was happening yet. And then the last message he'd gotten, a mere three hours later, while in the middle of a press conference for his candidate, where the man was doing rather well for himself. Scorpius had left immediately, and, because of the time, been stuck in traffic for what felt like forever, but had only been forty or so minutes.

It had been the longest forty minutes Scorpius was positive he'd ever lived through, crawling along through heavy traffic, his anxiety and fear he would miss the whole damned thing altogether, and guilt for not having just gone to be with Lily at lunch and damn her word, building to the point of being unbearable. His stomach roiled unpleasantly, his hands gripping the steering wheel furiously, and tried to rein in his temper that raged and made stupid suggestions, like how he could run there faster, or driving on the sidewalk would only take a few pedestrians out. Goddamn it, he just could not be  _late_! He simply refused to think he might miss it.

At last, at long last, traffic started moving again, and he said a fervent prayer that he would get to the hospital without killing anyone, getting into an accident of his own, like the one that had slowed him up for half his commute, or suffer a nervous breakdown.

He parked and literally ran into the hospital, barely pausing to catch his breath and ask someone for directions. To the third floor he went in a slow as fucking molasses elevator, his foot tapping impatiently the whole time, and praying to God and anything and everything else he could think of his baby girl wouldn't arrive before he was there. He vowed he'd do anything to make it on time, and almost cried with relief when the elevator doors pinged open. He rushed up to the nearest desk, feeling a little crazy, and looked at the nurse manning the station. "Can I help you?" she asked pleasantly.

"I should bloody well hope so," he panted, feeling edgy and irritable, and couldn't seem to get hold of himself as emotions choked him.

The woman's expression cooled. "That's what they pay me for, I suppose," she said.

Scorpius grit his teeth. "I'm looking for Lily Potter," he barked. The nurse lifted a brow.

"And you are?"

"I'm fucking late, that's what I am," he growled. "I'm fucking late for the birth of my own fucking daughter, and all I need from you is where in the bleeding fuck I can find Lily Potter before I miss the most important moment of my fucking life, lady!" All his anger and frustration and absolute panic poured out in his impassioned little speech, and he couldn't help but feel a tad guilty for the number of curses he'd uttered, but goddamn it, couldn't she tell this was kind of a big deal and probably qualified as an emergency? Shouldn't she be trained to handle that!?

The nurse looked at her phone, but punched something into her keyboard. "Room four B, last door on the left," she said, pointing. Her tone wasn't friendly.

Scorpius gulped. "Thanks," he said, and dashed off in the direction she pointed, heart beating in his throat. He stopped in the open doorway, then walked on suddenly unsteady legs into the room.

Lily was lying in the hospital bed, hospital gown and bracelet on, looking pale and sweaty. There were monitors on her belly that beeped steadily and churned out paper, and the redhead looked up at him and smiled.

Rose looked relieved, almost more than Scorpius felt, because there was an obvious bump still inside Lily, and everything seemed under control. "Are you alright?" the redhead asked, brow suddenly scrunching, then sucked in a deep breath, face paling, and gripped the side of the bed with white-knuckle force, breathing out slowly.

Scorpius could only stare for a beat. "Forget me," he snapped when it hit him, as Lily groaned and shifted, that she was in  _labour_. "How are you?" he demanded, moving to sit beside her on the bed, smoothing a hand up and down her leg, wishing she didn't have to handle the stress of childbirth and that he could take away her pain. "What do you need?" he murmured.

Lily let out another deep breath, and then relaxed a little bit, before she was groaning and writhing in pain again. "Get out of my bed, stop touching me, and find me a nurse," she said through gritted teeth, even as sweat beaded on her forehead and she gripped the sheet and bed with iron fists. " _Now_."

Scorpius all but leapt up, but Rose was rising in the next moment. "I'll go," she said, and then pointed at her abandoned chair. "Scorpius, sit."

The blond frowned a little at her, not relishing being addressed like a dog, but sat in the rock hard chair, and tried to think of anything to relieve Lily's pain. She writhed and moaned in agony, ripping his heart to bits he was certain, and he longed to hold her. "I think I hate you right now," she groaned. "You did this to me, you bastard," she moaned.

Scorpius opened his mouth to refute that statement, but it was true. "I'm sorry," he breathed instead.

"No you're not, you fucking ass hat," she groaned, almost doubling over, and cried out. "Fucking hell, I can't do it, I need drugs!"

Scorpius shifted guiltily, hating that he was so utterly helpless. "Take all the drugs you need," he said, feeling like an idiot in the next second.

To his shock, Lily sighed, contraction seemingly relaxing, and laughed hoarsely. Her hair was half out of a very messy bun atop her head, and she was garbed in what was quite possibly the ugliest hospital gown he'd ever seen, but he couldn't help but think her the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. "I will, if Rose comes back with the nurse," she panted, and then groaned. "Ohh, no, no," she moaned, as the contractions started again. "Fuck you, you sexy bastard, I fucking hate you," she moaned, curling up in agony, grabbing whatever was close to try and handle the intense pain. "This is all your fault."

Scorpius opened his mouth to point out she hadn't precisely said no, at the time, and that this baby having business was mostly all her idea, but refrained. He didn't want to anger her further, or piss her off while she was in agony. "I'm sorry," he said again, and reached out a hand to her. She clung with surprising strength, then crushed his digits. "Ow!"

"Good, that is only like one tenth of what I'm feeling," she ground out, teeth gritted, panting and moaning rhythmically. She squeezed his hand impossibly harder, certainly breaking it for good, and to Scorpius's undying relief, Rose returned, with a nurse and Ginny Potter in her wake. The blond could've kissed them all.

"Oh, honey," Ginny sniffled, and the nurse bustled up to Lily's bed. She didn't release her death grip on his hand, even when the nurse lifted Lily's blanket and checked her.

"Ow, ow, ow," the redhead snarled at the matronly nurse, who grimaced with her.

"You're at ten, dear, we just need to wait for the baby to drop all the way in position." Lily groaned, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to make it. I need drugs," she moaned.

The nurse pursed her mouth a little and Scorpius's brows shot up, and he almost dared the woman to tell Lily she didn't need them. "I'm afraid it's a little late for anything major, dear," the nurse said apologetically.

"No," Lily moaned. "That's not fair."

"Can you give her gas?" Ginny asked and the nurse nodded. "Take the laughing gas, honey," she said to her daughter.

"I don't fucking care what it is, give me everything," she announced.

Fifteen minutes later, she was huffing laughing gas, and while she still seemed to be in pain, Scorpius couldn't help but notice she was definitely buzzed. The doctor came in, beaming, looking fresh out of med school, and Scorpius didn't feel an ounce of faith in him. He'd rather the old matronly nurse came back to do the job of delivering his daughter.

"Ready to have a baby?" he asked brightly. Lily shifted her mask to one side.

"You fucking bet, doc. Been waiting on you to be ready." She put the mask back, then all but screamed into it as a brutal contraction rocked her.

"Don't push," one of the nurses said, but Lily just hollered into her mask, breathing erratically, eyes wide in pain and panic. Scorpius moved to stand by Lily's head, her death grip on his hand absolute, and numb shock washed over him as he watched things happening quickly. Far quicker than they had any right to. The doctor was rolling his sleeves up, checking Lily once he'd donned gloves, and nodded to the nurse, and another nurse had clicked some foothold type things into place. His heart was beating too fast, he was certain, and he felt himself break out into a cold sweat as terror washed over him.

How the hell was he supposed to do this? He couldn't be someone's father! Shouldn't there be some sort of test, or exam to be written beforehand? At least to gauge his aptitude toward parenting? God, he didn't know how to do anything remotely associated with babies! He wasn't sure he'd ever even seen a newborn baby, let alone hold one, or feed one, or change a diaper, or whatever the hell else came along with it. A snide voice in his head told him the fact he didn't even know precisely what meant Chris had been right all those months ago. There was no bloody fucking way he could hack it.

He swallowed thickly, and looked at Lily, her hazel eyes clenched shut, teeth gritted, and lips pulled back in a snarl. "I might not be pushing, but this baby is!" she shouted, shifting her mask aside. Ginny and Rose looked shocked, Scorpius bit his tongue against the insane urge to laugh, and the doctor smiled.

"Alright, love, give us a test push." Scorpius watched the doctor's face go from smiling to shocked as Lily pushed, apparently hard, and he seemed to sober immediately. "Okay, Lily, right?" he said, looking suddenly much more in control.

"Yes," she panted, the contraction easing.

"When the next contraction hits, you're going to push, hard and through your bottom, and you're not going to stop until we get to ten, alright, love?"

The redhead nodded, head dropping back as she gulped in lungfuls of air. Scorpius realized he was gripping her hand as hard as she was gripping his, trying to send her strength. "Ohhh," she moaned, body tensing again.

"Push, Lily," the doctor said firmly, and she did, grunting, and Scorpius held his breath as he instinctively pushed with her, although he wasn't sure what the hell he was pushing. By ten, Scorpius couldn't feel his hand anymore, and Lily screamed a little at the end, panting as she relaxed, and tried to catch her breath. "Again," the doctor said, and Lily shook her head. "Yes, you can do it, come on."

Scorpius was glad Lily was clutching his hand, because he wanted nothing more in that instant to punch the stupid doctor right in his face.

"Chin down on the next one," Ginny advised. "Catch your breath, wait for the next one."

"You're doing so great, honey," Rose murmured encouragingly.

"You're really close," a nurse added.

Lily cried out, pushing the mask over her face as she sucked in a huge breath, and all but screamed bloody murder as she pushed hard again, chin down, face red and sweating. Scorpius almost moaned, in agony himself just watching, but she made it through to ten, and then, before the doctor could prompt her, sucked in more air, and started pushing again.

"Great job, love, that's it," the doctor murmured. "Baby's head is right here."

"I see ginger!" Rose's voice said excitedly.

"Oh God, my grandbaby's coming!" Ginny sobbed.

"Push, push, push," the doctor said, even as Lily screamed again, the sound muffled by the mask.

Scorpius barely heard anything going on around him, focusing all his energy and concentration upon Lily and the grip she had on his hand. There was a brief lull in the contractions, and Lily turned her head to look at him, smiling a little crookedly behind her mask, squeezing his hand playfully. "Don't let go," she murmured. He couldn't speak past the rock of emotion in his throat, even as he was all but bursting to tell her he loved her. So he nodded, bringing her hand to his mouth. "This is it," Lily moaned, and Scorpius felt equally overjoyed and terrified as she screamed and pushed, and with a surge in his adrenaline, their baby was brought into the world.

There was nothing, for several long moments that Scorpius was positive his heart stopped beating for, and then came the pitiful wailing cry of a baby who was cold, and shocked, and probably half blinded by the bright lights. The blond couldn't think, couldn't talk, could barely even hold onto Lily's hand still, and bent his head over their clasped fingers. Hot, thoroughly unmanly tears slipped from under his lashes, and he couldn't contain the sheer joy coursing through him. Ginny and Rose had moved to ogle the new baby, and Scorpius looked up when Lily shook his hand, still held in hers.

"Scorpius," she panted, pulling the mask down. "Scorpius, did you hear?" she said, looking radiant, flushed pink and sweating and emitting an angelic glow.

"What?" he croaked.

Lily beamed. "It's a girl."

And to his utter embarrassment, he started bawling all over again, certainly the happiest bastard in the whole fucking world. The baby was placed on Lily's chest, and Scorpius dashed his tears aside, seeing a scrunchy red face howling back at him. "Oh darling," Lily breathed, and snuggled her baby closer, her own lashes dripping tears. "Oh my god, you're so perfect, my darling!" Lily whispered, clearly rendered silly from the gas and the adrenaline and pure, unadulterated joy. "Happy birthday, my beautiful girl! Oh my fucking God, Scorpius, we did it," she said, half laughing, half sobbing, and Scorpius felt his heart drop.

Because their little baby, his  _daughter_ , had calmed at the closeness to Lily and the warm blanket a nurse had put on them, even as the doctor dealt with the afterbirth and whatever else was down that end of the bed. Scorpius was afraid to look, personally. But almost as though he'd had ice water poured on him, it hit Scorpius, the enormity of it all. Because his daughter opened her eyes and looked at him, and in a heartbeat enslaved him to her every whim, and made him realize he had a shit ton to learn about being a parent, because he'd rather die than ever disappoint her or somehow let her down.

"You're amazing, Lily," he finally said, looking at the beaming redhead, who sighed dreamily.

"You're not bad yourself," she whispered, and then the baby was being taken away again, and the doctor was talking to Scorpius. He managed to wrench his gaze away from Lily's exhausted, breathtaking visage, and looked at the young man.

"What?" he said blankly.

The doctor held out some kind of scissor type thing. "Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?"

Scorpius stared at the shiny metal instrument. "Uh…" he said blankly, then looked back up at the expectant young man's face. He was probably at least five years younger than Scorpius himself, but goddamn it if he didn't make the blond feel about two inches tall with his knowledgeable eyes that promised he couldn't mess it up. "Yeah," he said at last, and reached for the scissor type things.

"Excellent, just here, if you please," the young doctor said, and indicated where Scorpius should cut. He was glad no one commented on how badly his hand shook. "Congratulations," the doctor said afterward, and Scorpius nodded dumbly.

He moved to sit back beside Lily, reaching for her hand again, and felt her tension ease from her as the baby was brought back to her once more. "She's so beautiful, honey," Ginny whispered through tears that fell thick and fast. "A baby girl for my baby girl, oh honey, I'm so proud of you."

"What a shocker," Rose said, grinning massively. "My squishy is a she!"

Lily smiled, shifting her gown aside without embarrassment, to lay the baby against her breasts. "Not to everyone," she said wryly, and looked at Scorpius. His dark grey eyes, bright with emotion, stared back at her, even though his face was seemingly carved of granite. "I guess you get to say you told me so," she teased.

Scorpius shook his head slowly, then reached out to tuck some hair behind her ear and brush a hesitant finger over their daughter. "No," he said softly. "I'll settle for a silent victory."

"Double shocker," Rose mumbled, and Lily blushed a little, looking away from him.

"Is everyone waiting to hear the news?" Lily asked her mother, who looked flustered all of a sudden.

"Oh yes, of course! Half the family's here," she said, then looked at her daughter searchingly. "Are you sure you're up to a bunch of Weasleys visiting, honey? You've just been through a lot."

Lily made a face. "Maybe not right this second," she admitted. "But you have to at least let them know. I just want a little bit of time to rest a bit."

Ginny Potter smiled and nodded, then stroked Lily's hair and kissed her forehead in a universally maternal gesture. "I'm so proud of you, honey," she murmured, and Lily gave her a one armed hug back, then Rose as well.

They departed to share the good news and Lily, very reluctantly, let Scorpius hold the infant as she was settled in clean bed linens and donned some kind of massive almost nappy to contain whatever aftermath their baby had left. Scorpius, for his part, could barely hold himself in check. He'd never held a baby who was, literally, less than an hour old, and yet it felt as natural as if he'd done it a million times. Of course, he didn't move in the slightest after she was placed in his arms, except to lean in and kiss her whisper soft, on her little forehead. But she seemed to sense he wasn't her mother, and wriggled and cried out pitifully after too short a time.

"Bring her back," Lily said, sounding perfectly pleasant, but firm, and Scorpius looked up at her. She'd had an IV hooked up, and while she looked a smidge pale and exhausted, he could hear the iron of her redheaded temper and stubborn will under her gentle tone. And he wasn't fool enough to mess with Lily when she was, obviously, still in the midst of crazy baby hormones and stress. So he handed the baby back, feeling a deep sense of loss. The baby turned into Lily's warmth, moving her face against the redhead's breast. "She needs to eat."

Scorpius watched as the nurse assisted Lily in holding the baby and position her, and her mouth, properly, to latch onto a nipple, and he told himself not to stare, but it was rather difficult to stop. Lily's lovely breasts, a sight in and of themselves, were fuller than ever, but there was no lust associated with the sight of them now. Alright, perhaps a tiny bit of lust, but the only thing he could think was how incredibly awe-inspiring it was. She'd grown, nurtured, delivered, and now would feed, a tiny human life. A  _person_. And all with the perfect body he now felt like a bastard for only really ever lusting after.

He shook his head, trying to block it out, but he couldn't escape the fact, he was well and truly fucked whenever Lily got out of hospital and went back to her flat with the little girl who had so very recently become the one thing worth living for.

"Why are you staring at us?" Lily asked, and dark grey eyes blinked, then focused on her properly. The nurse had gone. How long, he wasn't sure. But Lily was still feeding the baby, and now looking at him curiously.

"It's hard not to," he admitted, then sucked in a breath, the three words he knew she'd never want to hear on the tip of his tongue. "And I mean that in the most non-sexual way possible," he added, at her raised brow and slight frown.

Her brow went down, but she still frowned a tiny bit. "I don't really get it."

Scorpius sighed, unable to put it into words, at least ones that wouldn't kill him from sheer embarrassment at speaking aloud. "It's just kind of...mind-boggling," he said. "She's here. You grew her, and here she is, and now you're going to keep her alive."

Lily blinked, then her face softened into the goddess smile, his most favourite of all of Lily's expressions, and she cleared her throat. "Yeah," she said thickly. "That makes sense now." And although she looked away from him again, he couldn't help but wonder, if only because he was crazy, if he'd seen just the tiniest bit of something that looked like how he felt for her in her expressive hazel eyes.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say he loved her. To tell her he was in love with her, and she wasn't allowed to be without him, because he needed her, and their baby, and whatever insanity was awaiting in the future. He didn't care she wouldn't reciprocate, he just couldn't live without letting her know just how much she'd come to mean. But before he could make a sound, there was a loud knock on the door, and someone who sounded a lot like James Potter said, "How much longer are you gonna need, Lils? Priscilla is going to implode, and Nan is asking anyone who seems employed by the hospital for updates, and Rose keeps telling us we just  _have_ to see the baby, which is getting kind of annoying."

The redhead sighed, feeling uneasy, but looked up at Scorpius, who tried to smile. "Well, I'm kind of in the middle of feeding the baby, so just send in the first wave of women. Sorry, Jamie," Lily replied, a little cheekily, and Scorpius couldn't help but smirk, even as he reached for her hand. He was surprised to learn he'd regained most of his normal hand movements, although he knew he was going to be sore for awhile. Having a woman giving birth use your hand to hold onto could do that to a man, he supposed. She linked her fingers through his, and sighed contentedly, even as the first wave of female relatives came in.

After a couple hours, Scorpius was beginning to suspect Lily was hungry, because she was becoming impatient and emotional when talk lead, inevitably, to what the baby's name would be. So he requested that Albus, who was there with his brother and Priscilla and Rose, along with Harry and Ginny, go get food. An idea the redhead immediately latched onto. "I want food too," she said imperiously. "Bring me pizza. And salad. Chicken Caesar salad, with extra dressing, and the biggest bottle of iced tea you can find. And some of those dill pickle crisps from the vending machine. I know they have them here."

James laughed at Albus's expression. "Jesus, Lily, you're not growing a baby anymore," he teased, ruffling her hair.

Priscilla opened her mouth to give her brother in law a scathing retort, no doubt, but Scorpius was faster. "She is too still growing the baby," he said easily. "When's the last time you nurtured life, Al? Newsflash, it doesn't end when the baby comes out."

Albus looked as though Scorpius had punched him, then James laughed again. "C'mon, little bro. I'll go with you. We'll be back."

"I'll come too, I could use some food," Priscilla said, and got up, giving Scorpius an approving sort of look. "Come on Rose, you can help us carry everything." The auburn haired, blue eyed woman sighed, but kissed the baby, handed her back to Lily, and followed the Potters out. And then Scorpius realized Harry Potter was giving him a long, searching look, and gulped, squeezing Lily's hand.

"Dad," Lily said lightly, looking tired but stubborn when Scorpius glanced at her. Harry turned his vibrant green eyes back to his daughter. "You haven't held the baby yet," she said, and fixed her father with the same expectant glare she used on the tall blond.

"Harry," Ginny said softly.

The dark haired man, the older, far wiser version of Scorpius's best friend, looked at the blond again, and Scorpius tried to find something to say that would satisfy this man, and possibly even gain his approval. Lord knew what, though, because Scorpius wasn't even sure he'd ever gained his own father's approval. All he could come up with was, "You should hold your granddaughter, because it's my turn after you."

Harry stared at him for another moment, then smiled a little. "Sure thing, honey," he said to Lily, and lifted the little bundle of blanket and baby. Lily squeezed Scorpius's hand and he looked at her, prying his gaze away from the cherubic, sleeping face of his daughter.

The redhead was smiling, the soft, goddess smile that turned his insides into mush, and brushed her thumb over the sensitive junction between his own thumb and forefinger. Scorpius leaned in, because the urge to kiss her was far too heady to deny, but then the baby started crying, and the moment shattered between them as Lily, back in Mother Mode, looked away, releasing his hand. "Dad," she said, and chuckled, because Harry looked panicked, "don't freak out, just hand her back. She's probably hungry."

Harry all but thrust the baby at her, and got up, cheeks pink. "I feel her pain. I'm going to see where Albus is with that food," he said a little gruffly, but leaned down and kissed Lily's cheek, as Ginny rose too. The redhead chuckled, and looked back at Scorpius even as she rang for the nurse to help her get the baby latched.

"Are you going to run away on me, too?" she teased, and the blond shook his head.

"No," he said, reclining in the rock hard, most uncomfortable chair he'd ever sat in. "I've already ordered room service." Lily laughed and Scorpius enjoyed the sound, watching with rapt fascination as Lily got the baby situated and fed, and tried to convince himself that whenever she left the hospital and went home, without him, he would be okay with that, with little success.

XXX


	13. Calm Before the Storm

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Thirteen - Calm Before the Storm

Lily sighed, feeling a mixture of excited and exhausted joy still, and bent her head again, for the tenth time in the last few minutes, and kissed her little baby bean on the top of her downy little head. All her family had come, in rotating shifts, to visit the baby and her, but always, without fault, Scorpius was by her side, and Rose, for a good majority of the time, was also present, making sure no one held the baby too long.

But now that visitors had been kicked out, the last few scragglers a little rudely, by hospital rules and a stern faced nurse, Lily was alone with her little bean. Scorpius had, under her firm demand, gone home to sleep and change, although she didn't doubt he'd be back if not first thing in the morning, before that. The redhead herself was hoping for some food and maybe a shower, but considering it was sometime after four in the morning, she understood it probably wouldn't happen. She smiled again, running a soft, adoring finger across her daughters facial features, the soft chubbiness of her cheeks, the thatch of whisper soft hair, already reddish blond, her plump little mouth. Tears stung her eyes, because thinking about how she'd created something so very gorgeous and utterly amazingly perfect was staggering. "Mama loves you," she whispered, and kissed the little head again, snuggling her baby closer in her arms.

All too soon the little angel scrunched up her face and whimpered a heartbreaking little cry. "Oh darling," Lily breathed softly, shifting her daughter gently, and peeked at her diaper. There didn't appear to be anything there. The baby whimpered again, a little louder, then smacked her lips together. Lily smiled, lifting her infant to her breast, guiding her head like she'd been shown, and winced a little as the first try succeeded in pinching her nipple roughly. On the second try, they got a good latch, and Lily leaned back against the raised bed, feeling wonderfully exhausted as her baby suckled hungrily.

There was a very soft knock on the mostly closed door, and Lily didn't bother looking up as someone came in, because the nurses had been coming to check on her regularly in the last twelve hours, and that sounded just like one of their knocks.

"Does she ever stop eating?" a deep voice drawled, sounding amused and rough with exhaustion.

Lily glanced up in surprise, mouth parting. "Scorpius!" she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, moving into the room and resuming his seat upon the far from comfortable pleather chair beside her bed he'd been manning most of the last twelve hours. "I couldn't sleep," he admitted, and looked down, almost adding because it was the first time he'd slept without her warmth in bed with him in so long, he'd forgotten how to sleep there by himself.

Lily frowned prettily. "You need sleep, Scorpius," she chastised softly, stroking the baby's cheek as she started drifting back to sleep, and the suckling started up again.

"So do you," he shot back. "You look like you couldn't get up if you tried, darling," he murmured. He knew perfectly well she'd been up almost twenty four hours on almost no sleep the night before, and a worried frown creased his forehead.

Lily shrugged. "I'm good. I've got my bean," she said, and smiled, shifting the infant in her arm to rouse her as she drifted off again. "So, let's hear the name then," she added, looking up at Scorpius pointedly. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "I know you didn't want to tell everyone when they were here," she said, "but I want to hear what you picked. Even if it's awful and I'm going to end up vetoing it."

Scorpius frowned. "It's not awful," he snapped.

Lily smiled. "So?" she prompted.

The blond shifted in his seat, unable to meet her eyes. "Well, for a first name," he said slowly, and glanced back up at his daughter, the little bundle of joy who'd tied him to her and then stolen his heart in the first moments he'd laid eyes upon her. "I've always been fond of Helen."

Lily mouth pursed a little. "Helen," she repeated, and then looked down at their baby, who was falling asleep on her breast again. She shifted the infant, and made as if to pull her away, but she resumed her suckle, and Lily sighed. "Helen," she said again, enjoying the sound of the name on her tongue. "Hmm…"

"Because she's beautiful," Scorpius said, a tad defensively.

"And middle names?" the redhead asked clinically.

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm not picky. I'd prefer to give her your middle name, but I doubt you'd like that."

Lily snorted, and the baby startled lightly. "Definitely not happening," she murmured.

"In that case," Scorpius said lightly, "give her your grandmother's name." Lily bit her lower lip, hating that he'd somehow, some way, figured out she'd secretly been planning, if she should be wrong and her baby ended up being a girl, she'd want at least a middle name to be Molly.

"What about Rose?" Lily said instead, unable to admit how much the thought he would give his daughter a name from her family, and not something god-awfully celestial as per his own family tradition, touched her.

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "Helen Rose?" he said, and Lily frowned with him.

"Helena Rose?" she offered up instead, and they both paused, Lily saying the name again, in her mind, enjoying the melodious sounds.

"That's not half bad," Scorpius replied.

The redhead grinned, and stroked her daughter's cheek again, then shifted her, but no amount of gentle prodding would wake her. She leaned over and jotted down the time of feeding, and duration, in her notebook, as she'd been doing since the first latch. Her right breast, the one little Helena had been feeding at, felt soft and relaxed. Her left uncomfortably full, and she suspected it might already be leaking. "Pass me that?" she asked Scorpius, pointing to the breast shield portion of her electric pump, to siphon off the excess milk her baby wouldn't need just yet, and ensure she kept making plenty.

Scorpius handed over the little suction cup like thing, and Lily shifted her hospital gown aside, and plonked it onto herself, then reached over and flicked something on the machine next to her bed, adjusted the suction, and leaned back once more. The baby was still asleep in the crook of her arm and Scorpius felt distinctly in awe of Lily in Mother Mode. It was equally heart wrenching and enjoyable, because she seemed so effortlessly natural and beautiful, and yet painful because he knew he might well not see much more of it. He told himself that thought didn't hurt like a knife stabbed into his chest and twisted viciously, even if it did.

The redhead lifted a brow as he regarded her. "It's kind of weird that you're staring at me right now, all things considered," Lily murmured, and looked away, at the little collection bottle her breast milk dropped rapidly into.

"Not really," he said, because he was finding difficult to look away. He bit back the urge to tell her he loved her, was in love with her, more than he'd ever thought himself capable of being. He didn't think she'd see it as much more than joy from her bringing their daughter into the world. "But I have to admit, I really like that name."

"So?" Lily pushed, smirking, then cuddled their baby closer and kissed the sleepy infant.

"I like it," he said again. "I'm more than good with that if you are."

She smiled, looking down at her baby, and nodded softly, then kissed her downy head again. "I'm great with that."

Scorpius couldn't fight the smile, even if he'd tried, and sat back. Helena Rose Malfoy. He liked the ring that carried.

Meanwhile, Lily was thinking along similar lines. Helena Rose Potter. It sounded absolutely perfect to her. And, despite her certainty Scorpius wouldn't ever find a name for their baby, he'd somehow prompted the most perfect name she could imagine for the baby she never expected to have. But now, after it had truly sunk in, that she'd given birth to a beautiful baby girl, who was as happy and healthy as any mother could wish, she couldn't fathom her little Helena being anyone, or anything, else. And, best of all, she'd secured her maternal right by having her precious little bean latch not long after birth. She tried to tell herself there was absolutely no way Scorpius could ever dream to even think of taking her now, but the practical side of her felt wary still. They hadn't talked about it whatsoever since she'd first told him she was having his baby, but now Lily wondered. Would he try to take her baby regardless?

Impulsive instinct had the redhead cuddling the infant closer and Scorpius smiled softly at her, looking thoroughly content and putting her worst fears to rest. At least for now. "Thank you," Scorpius said suddenly, and Lily looked up at him.

"For what?" she asked automatically.

His eyes roved over her, hot, possessive, and utterly out of her league. "For everything," he said thickly, his deep voice rougher than simply from lack of sleep. She told herself it was hormones that had her heart rising to choke her, buoyed up by the love for him she couldn't admit to.

"You're welcome," she said and then chuckled at herself a little. "For everything."

Scorpius shook his head, and to her mingled delight and chagrin, sat down beside her on the bed and lifted the sleeping baby from her arms. "You need to sleep, darling. You're starting to sound loopy."

Lily shook her head, holding her hands out for the baby, even as he took her further, sitting back in his chair. "I'm perfectly fine," she insisted, capping the carefully pumped breast milk. "Give me my baby."

"You need to sleep, Lily," Scorpius insisted. "If she wakes up or gets hungry, I'll wake you, but seriously, you look like a zombie," he said, not unkindly, and Lily willed herself not to cry. "You've done a lot today. And plenty yesterday, too. Get some sleep."

The redhead shook her head one last time, even as she leaned back in bed, barely registering it was lowering to a fully reclined position, and sighed. "You have to bring her back," she murmured, eyelids fluttering, hating that she felt so sleepy.

"We'll be right here," Scorpius murmured, watching her succumb to exhaustion at long last. While he was slightly annoyed she seemed to take absolutely no time for herself, he couldn't deny, her dedication to the life he'd planted within her was absolute, and far more intense than he could've ever imagined. He'd thought, certainly, she was dedicated, but she had put everything and everyone else, most especially little Helena, before herself to the point of burning herself out. Scorpius sighed, vowing to himself he would shoulder more of the load, if only so Lily could sleep and heal after pushing out a bloody nine pound baby.

He readjusted his grip on his little daughter, the way he'd seen the nurses do it, and lifted her under her little arms, fingers holding her neck, and settled her on his chest as he slouched in the world's most uncomfortable chair. And goddamn it all to hell, if it wasn't the best snuggle he'd ever had with a lady, he was a muffin. Her solid weight was warm and reassuring, the steady rise and fall of her chest making his heart thud in time, and, most of all, the delicious smell of her, that baby smell, mixed with the scent of the nappy and the lingering fragrance of whatever Lily had washed the baby's blanket in, pervaded his senses. God, whatever it was, it was good.

His fingers rubbed a gentle circle over her small back, trying to avoid doing something unmanly, like crying, when there was a gentle rap on the door. He looked up as a nurse walked in, and smiled at him. He brushed his lips over his daughter's soft head. "She's finally sleeping?" the young woman asked, smiling a little wider. Scorpius nodded. "How did you persuade her?"

"I didn't give her a choice," he said quietly.

"Babies, at this age, aren't prone to waking from loud noises, unless it's unusually loud, or sudden," the nurse said. "You should feel free to make as much noise as possible."

Scorpius barely refrained from glaring at the woman, and settled for frowning. "Mothers of young babies, however, are prone to waking at loud noises," he said, trying to remain as polite as possible. "Especially this one." And he didn't think he could stand it if she woke up and didn't go back to bed immediately, because he was rather enjoying snuggling their baby.

The nurse lifted a brow, but grinned with youthful optimism. "Then we'll give Mum some quiet," she said. "Come on, you can bring the baby out, walk her around a little."

Scorpius tried to react as though the notion of carrying her around, over very hard floors, literally holding Helena's life in his hands, wasn't terrifying. Inside he was fucking petrified. But if it made sure Lily rested… His fear of waking her trumped the fear of possibly dropping his baby, so he nodded, steeled himself, and rose gingerly in slow motion. He gripped his little daughter tight, but not too tight, scooting her up more securely on one shoulder, and let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding when she didn't start crying. He couldn't help but glare at the nurse now, who was obviously trying to avoid laughing at him, and accepted the blanket she held out, wrapping it around little Helena.

"Just this way," she said brightly, and lead him from the room. "And since you're obviously new at this, I can almost promise you you won't drop her."

Scorpius frowned, feeling himself blush a little, and gently rocked Helena as he walked in the young nurse's wake. She slept on, rosy mouth parted, breathing softly against his neck. "I had planned to avoid it," he said. The nurse giggled, going back to the little station where another woman sat in a desk chair, tapping away at a keyboard. Another baby, wrapped up burrito style in a blue swaddling cloth, slept in its little plastic box on wheels beside her. "Is he due for feeding yet?" she asked her colleague, jerking her chin at the blue bundle.

"Not for at least a half hour," the other nurse replied, sounding bored, then glanced up at Scorpius. The blond felt a pang of embarrassment, because he was fairly certain she was the woman he'd yelled at when he got to the hospital late. "You," she said, smiling. "Did you make it in time?" she asked teasingly.

Scorpius felt his cheeks burn hotter, pointedly looking away, at his daughter, instead of her smug expression. "I did," he said formally. The girl chuckled.

"And?" she drawled.

Scorpius frowned. "I suppose I should apologize for being a little impatient," he said gruffly. "Though in my defence, it wasn't as though I exactly knew if I'd make it."

"A little impatient?" the nurse drawled, but laughed some more, and glanced at the younger woman, who was smirking. "Swear to God, I thought I was going to have to call Security."

The other nurse giggled into a hand. "Too bad. The guy who works Thursday afternoons is a cutie."

Scorpius rolled dark grey eyes, and continued down the hall, rocking Helena. "Hey, what did you end up naming the little lass, anyway?" the nurse called. The younger one looked at him expectantly as well.

The blond paused and turned back. "Helena," he said, smiling slowly, and lifted a hand to smooth it over her tiny head and strawberry blond fuzz. "Helena Rose."

They walked ten very long and slow laps around the labour and delivery ward, and then Scorpius peeked in at Lily, who was still fast asleep, and, under the nurses' advice, went to watch a movie in the family visiting room while he snuggled his new daughter. To his shock, there was another dad with a baby there, this one wearing a blue hat.

"Hey," the dude said, looking as tired as Scorpius felt.

The blond sat down carefully. "Hey."

"Daughter?" the other guy asked vaguely.

"Yeah. Son?"

"Yup." The guy glanced at Scorpius. "First one, eh?"

Scorpius smirked. "Definitely."

"This is number three," the guy said, pointing to his baby. "So a word of advice? The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed your little one will be."

Scorpius nodded, relaxing onto the rather comfortable chair. "That makes sense," he murmured, and rubbed little Helena's back. And then he realized, with a flash of brilliance, this man could be a potential wealth of baby information, if he had three of his own. "Any other tips?" he asked, slouching comfortably, his baby settled in the fetal position on his chest, kindling a warmth within him that made his voice raw.

The guy glanced up from some Disney flick. "Well, since you've got a girl, first and foremost, always wipe down and back for bum changes. Always." The blond nodded, filing the information away. "Second, don't wake the baby, or the Mum, unless absolutely necessary. They've got their own thing figured out," the guy murmured. Scorpius privately thought that seemed obvious, but kept nodding. "And, last but not least, always have patience. Don't worry that things aren't happening when they're 'supposed to' and don't let what other people think or do influence your gut instincts. You made that baby, there's part of you that knows just what to do to raise her."

"Thanks," Scorpius said, with feeling. Because that made him feel a helluva lot more qualified to be something so absolute as a father to the tiny infant on his chest.

"Oh, and don't ever,  _ever_  let her watch this movie," the guy said, gesturing with his chin at the screen. Scorpius glanced at it, frowning.

"Why not?" he asked. The guy grinned, looking smug.

"Watch and learn," he said lightly, and settled in with the air of someone who's seen something far more often than they wanted to. Scorpius also settled in, and by the time they fourth song started, he was ready to shoot himself. "So, have you realized yet?" the guy asked, sounding amused.

"Yes," Scorpius said lightly. "This is the worst movie ever made."

The other guy chuckled softly, and the blond was a little amazed he hadn't seemed to have moved a single muscle. "And little girls love it. So do yourself a favour, and don't  _ever_  let her watch it, unless, of course, you feel like watching it another four hundred times."

Scorpius opened his mouth to agree readily with that sentiment, but then little Helena shifted, made a rather unladylike noise from her bottom, and cried out. "Well it seems as though she disagrees," the blond said lightly, and stood up. He was pretty sure the warmth under his hand that held her securely by the bum, was her earlier meals having passed through, and figured now would be a good time to wake Lily.

By the time he got to her room, Lily was awake, and half shouting at a nurse, demanding to know where her baby had gone. And when Scorpius walked in with little Helena, he met the full fury of her hazel gaze head on. " _What_  are you doing?" she demanded.

"Coming to get you. Your daughter, I'm relatively positive, needs a nappy change, and probably more food to fill her back up."

Lily stared at him for a long moment, the nurse edging out of the room quickly, and then tears gathered in her eyes. "I… I thought…" Apparently she couldn't quite tell him what he thought, because she promptly burst into tears, even as he brought the baby over.

Scorpius, who'd had more than enough experience while she'd been pregnant not to take tears too seriously, sat down on the bed beside her, passing his daughter over. She cried out again, and Lily laid her gently on the bed between her legs. "Did you sleep alright?" he murmured, noticing she still looked pale and exhausted as she wiped her eyes hastily on her hospital gown and sniffled.

"I slept great, until I woke up, sweating and in the dark, with no one remotely nearby, the baby gone." She efficiently undid the soiled nappy as she talked, quickly getting the necessary supplies, and although Scorpius couldn't help but feel intimidated, he watched her sure, delicate movements, both handling the infant and wiping her clean, trying to mentally catalogue them for the off chance he'd need to fill in for her.

If the blond was honest, he didn't precisely  _want_  to change dirty nappies, but he would do it, if Lily felt like he could be trusted to do so. He glanced at the redhead and couldn't help but wonder just  _what_  she'd thought he'd done with their baby. Did she think he'd just walk out with little Helena, having no idea how to remotely care for her, and not only take her from her mother, but leave Lily, still checked into the hospital, without her infant? He hoped to hell not.

In fact, Lily was telling herself it had been foolish in the extreme to think precisely that. That somehow Scorpius had lulled her into sleep so he could whisk her tiny, precious bean away, never letting her have her again. The redhead had cried, literally, tears of sheer joy at seeing her baby again, and knowing she'd been hormonal and crazy in thinking he'd just walk out with her baby bean. He had no experience with babies! How would he even know what to do if the baby cried?

She fastened the clean nappy onto little Helena, then picked her up and laid her on her chest as she reclined on the raised bed. "Are you hungry now, darling?" she asked in a coo, brushing a thumb over her daughter's rosy mouth, watching her lips plump into a suckle, smacking together hungrily, hands grasping blindly.

She lifted Helena to her breast, got her latched, and relaxed as much as possible, even as Scorpius reclined next to her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but although he'd seen her naked dozens of times, hell, had been been the one with his mouth around her nipples almost less than three days ago, Lily felt almost uneasy around the tall, handsome blond. Especially naked.

There was one thing, being all full of baby, and him liking that. There was a whole world of difference with her body now, and Lily, feeling self conscious, somehow couldn't even picture her body a week, or month, or even year from then, let alone know if he'd want to experience it. She told herself it was never supposed to be more than a co-parenting relationship with Scorpius, but truth be told, Lily had never been happier than the brief time she'd been living with him. He'd been someone to cook for, even if she ended up eating most of the food, and someone to bounce ideas off of, and, maybe most of all, he'd somehow turned into a necessity in her daily life. Something she needed in regular doses, thoroughly and intimately, to feel whole. Hell, even after she'd 'moved out', Lily had spent more nights with him than at her lifeless flat, cooking, eating, laughing, talking, and making love into the wee hours of the morning.

She told herself firmly it had only been sex for him. She was just being silly and romantic, the typical female she supposed, and obviously there was no way he felt anything other than lust for her, if even that anymore, and love for their baby. Nothing so deep and entirely consuming as love for her. But she couldn't begrudge his love for Helena, because she felt the same invincible, invisible, pull to the little baby. Their little daughter was utterly perfect in Lily's eyes, and she marveled again that she was there, whole and healthy and happy as could be.

And it didn't matter if Scorpius wouldn't ever love her, because his love for their daughter would be enough. Enough for Lily to live vicariously through. Enough to focus her days on, and she knew he'd be around in Helena's life enough that she'd get to enjoy almost all of him, even if he'd never feel the same. And Lily told herself sternly it would be enough.

XXX


	14. Highway to Hell

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Fourteen - Highway to Hell

Lily woke, feeling almost, but not quite, unbearably warm and became aware almost instantly, her breasts were rock hard and aching, even as her baby, who'd fallen asleep on her chest, stirred against her very fully breasts. "Good morning." came the deep voice, scratchy with sleep, of Scorpius, and for a moment, Lily couldn't tell if she was dreaming or awake. "Did you want to feed her? I can give her some of whatever you have pumped if you want to sleep," the blond man lying beside her continued, even as little Helena nuzzled her, making her breasts relax instinctively. Lily shook her head, opening her bleary eyes fully in the bright early morning sun that slanted through the blinds over the window next to her bed.

It all came back to her instantly. She was in the hospital, and her bean was there with her, now growing almost impatiently hungry as she grasped blindly and smacked her rosy little lips, and she must have dozed off with Scorpius lying beside her, his dark grey eyes red rimmed but intent when she met them. Lily couldn't help but wonder if he'd been lying with her all night, and sat up enough to let her baby latch onto a nipple hungrily. "What time is it?" the redhead asked, stifling a yawn, wanting nothing more than to either consume about four double shots of espresso in a row or go back to sleep.

"Almost seven," the blond murmured, as Lily sucked in a breath when he smoothed a hand over little Helena's fuzzy, strawberry blond head. "You fell asleep with her after she ate, and I didn't have the heart to wake you," Scorpius murmured. She almost choked on her heart, buoying up in her chest, as he added, "And it was much easier to sleep with you next to me."

Lily barely breathed as his warm mouth turned in against her neck and brushed up the smooth, pale column of flesh tenderly. "Thanks," she breathed, feeling her right breast, the one her daughter wasn't feeding at, start to lactate. "Shit," she breathed, and pulled away, even as she felt the loss of warmth, from Scorpius. "Sorry, but I'm leaking," she sighed, and reached blindly toward the side table for one of the little breast pad things, designed to absorb such occurrences, from the little table beside her bed. Scorpius merely reached over her and passed it efficiently.

"It's alright," the blond replied through a yawn, and even though she felt awkward, and her barely fastened hospital gown was wet with breast milk, she couldn't help but notice Scorpius's dark grey eyes dart down to the curve of her boobs as she affixed the little pad. Lily blushed the tiniest bit, because her post pregnancy body, still so new and still transforming, felt strange even for her. And yet Scorpius merely looked at her as if she hadn't changed one iota. And the redhead wasn't sure if she felt entirely comfortable with that, and if that was even a good or bad thing.

A half hour later, the baby fed, burped, and changed, Lily yawned, feeling sleepy still, and looked up just as Scorpius, who'd gone in search of coffee, brought a nurse and her brother, and to her surprise, their friend Chris Pashkov, in his wake. "I come bearing food," the tall blond said, holding a tray of hot beverages and a brown paper bag. Lily fought the urge to cry, and then the nurse announced she was going to check Lily, to make sure she was healing alright.

Her brother and Chris waited outside after exchanging half disgusted, half terrified glances, and while Lily was half expecting Scorpius to join them, he merely left breakfast on the rolling table by the window and moved over to her bedside. She reluctantly passed the baby and Scorpius lifted a sleeping Helena from Lily's arms, brushing her rosy, cherubic cheek with a kiss before moving to sit cautiously with the infant in the chair that he'd occupied almost exclusively since she'd had their daughter.

After Lily was deemed to be getting on well, once the nurse had asked lots of questions and urged her to use her call button for anything she might need and then left, Albus and Chris rejoined them. "Holy shit," the latter breathed, looking at Scorpius holding the baby.

Scorpius frowned a little, half glaring at his friend, and Lily smirked, because it looked as if Chris had just been punched in the face, which triggered only fond memories for the redhead. "What?" the blond asked, even as Lily held her arms out for the baby again. He reluctantly passed little Helena back.

"You have a fucking baby," Chris said, looking as though he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. "Kind of weird, mate," he added sheepishly as Scorpius scowled. "Honestly, I just couldn't actually picture…" Lily's brows shot up curiously and Chris stopped talking as Scorpius glared menacingly. "Never mind," he said lightly. "So, Little Lily, how are you liking motherhood?" he asked with a charming smile.

"Considering, from what I've heard, it's mostly downhill from here for the next couple years, or more, I love it," Lily said blithely, unable to resist the urge to snuggle her baby. Her eyes flicked over to Scorpius, and she added, "And, really, I've got the cutest baby on the face of planet, so what's not to love, right?"

"Nappy changes," Albus said automatically, grinning, and Lily chuckled a bit. "I want a baby snuggle. Share the cuteness, Lils."

Lily handed the infant over to her brother, who despite having already held two separate newborns, looked a little intimidated, and Chris glanced at Scorpius. "So what's the deal then, Scor? Are you booking an appointment?" Lily's brow furrowed and the blond man shook his head.

"You know that's not my style," he replied lightly, even though he cast his friend a significant look, feeling Lily's hazel eyes on him. "I'll let you know."

The redhead, for her part, had no idea what they were talking about, but Scorpius seemed utterly relaxed still, and Chris was smirking, so she brushed her suspicions aside. Even if, for a brief moment, she wondered if her brother and baby daddy's friend had meant a professional appointment.  _Don't be crazy, he's not going to take you to court. He already proved he won't take her, because last time would've been the perfect opportunity_. "Fair enough," Chris said pleasantly, and then chuckled as little Helena stirred and Albus froze, looking uneasy.

"Lily, it smells," her brother said, and the redhead burst out laughing.

"That's how we know she's your niece," Scorpius said, even as Chris laughed too. Albus frowned as Lily held her arms out.

"Pass her back, then."

"So are you going to name that stinky beast then, or what?" Albus asked, even as Lily undid the soiled nappy, her daughter still dozing contentedly, and Chris gagged, looking away. "Everyone's been asking me if you two have decided on anything yet." Emerald green eyes rolled in exasperation, and Lily grinned, because she could imagine their entire extended family had, upon finding out Scorpius was her baby daddy, assumed he'd be the first to know anything at all on the name front.

"We have," she said, fixing the clean diaper on Helena, and then she glanced at Scorpius. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

Scorpius smiled a little, just the tiniest quirk around the corners of his mouth, and said softly, "I'll tell them, since you get the honours of naming her godfather." He glanced at his two friends, feeling a little embarrassed at how scared he was for their approval, and yet proud he'd mostly named their daughter. "Helena Rose."

Albus glanced at his sister, then his brows lifted. "Not bad."

Chris looked thoughtful. "I think some of Little Lily's crazy hormones have rubbed off on you, mate," he said, smirking a little now. "It's kind of freaking me out that you're actually doing the whole baby thing, y'know, being a…" The dark European man shrugged, looking sheepish once more, because Scorpius narrowed his eyes at him. "Never mind."

Lily rolled her eyes, and Albus said fondly, "Stop talking, Chris. Your big mouth is already full with both feet." Chris sent Albus a dark look, but then the dark haired, green eyed man said, "So is this the part where I get asked to be godfather?"

"No," Scorpius said, grinning, and Lily all but beamed, even as she snuggled the baby again, smiling down as her little bean's lashes fluttered.

"This is the part where I ask Chris," the redhead said with relish.

The dark haired, blue eyed man looked shocked. "For real?" he asked, even as Albus scowled.

"That's not fair! I'm always the godfather!" Albus snapped.

"Exactly," Scorpius replied with cool logic. "You already have two."

"You can be the reserve if you want, Al," Lily chimed in, and Scorpius chuckled. The redhead glanced at him. "I hope one of those coffees is for me. And I want breakfast now."

"You bet," Scorpius replied softly, and passed the food, scooping up his daughter for some snuggles of his own. "So, what do you say, Pashkov?"

"Sure, even if you might be a bit daft," Chris replied, and sent a distinctly pouty Albus a gloating look.

"Yeah, I might be," Scorpius admitted, glancing down as his daughter peered up at him curiously, then yawned.

"There's no might about it," Albus scoffed, and Lily smirked.

"For once I feel like you might be right, big brother," she said, even as she unwrapped a bagel from the bag. It was her favourite kind, and topped with her favourite cream cheese, and she felt something warm take up residence in her chest as she peeked over at Scorpius over the rim of her tea, which was also just as she liked it. The blond glanced back at her, smiling just the littlest bit goofily, and Lily swallowed past the urge to lean over and kiss him in thanks. "Definitely daft," she murmured, and then stuffed some bagel into her mouth to prevent anything sappy or emotional from spewing out.

Sixteen hours and two cat naps for Lily later, she was discharged, with her bean, and her mother and cousin Rose fretted she was forgetting things while she packed. Lily felt the strain building, because she was  _tired_ , and she wanted someone else to deal with packing, so she could just deal with her bean. And then, to top it all off, Helena, who was supposed to be sleeping, woke up crying louder and in more distress than Lily had ever heard her. She dropped her bag and burst into tears, even as she moved to her baby, and Rose and her mother just stared for long moments.

"Deep breath, Lily," Scorpius said from the doorway, and she felt herself relax as she listened to him, taking a long, deep breath, blowing it out slowly. "Are you leaving?" the blond then asked, looking around the room as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

"No," Lily said firmly, sitting on the bed, rocking the baby and looking distinctly stubborn. "I'm not ready," she said, lip wobbling. Because Lily wasn't at all ready to go home to her lifeless flat that was furnished and partly baby ready, and be alone. She wanted to be, although part of her still rejected even thinking it, with Scorpius. He'd been there almost as much as she had for little Helena's first days, and although she didn't quite still trust him implicitly with  _her_  baby, there was still a certain respect, because it was obvious he loved their bean. And Lily couldn't help but want to be with him because she was utterly, stupidly, completely head over heels in love with him. All in all, she was screwed.

"What do you need me to do?" Scorpius asked, for at least the dozenth time in Helena's short life, and Lily, still rocking a crying Helena, burst into tears all over again, because goddamn it how did he just know what she  _needed_!?

"Pack," she said between sobs, trying to make herself breathe properly. She tried nursing the baby, but the wasn't the case, and then Ginny, who had recovered, came over and suggested her granddaughter had gas. And, five minutes, some belly rubbing and bicycle legs later, there was poop and the screaming had stopped.

By the time Lily had gotten herself together again, and her little daughter, now sleeping peacefully after eating again, loaded into her car seat, Scorpius had, somehow, packed her belongings. "Are you okay?" he murmured, looking concerned, and exhausted, and determined, all at once.

"I'm fine," she replied with a confidence she didn't quite feel, and forced a bright smile. "Are you ready?" she added jokingly, looking at him carrying her bag, the diaper bag, and another baby bag, like he'd done it a million times.

"You bet," he said with a smile, and Lily had to rein in the urge to kiss him, because when he half smiled at her, looking impossibly sexy for a man who'd barely slept for the last two days, she was tempted, and bad.

Lily carried out her flowers, Rose carried Helena in the car seat, complaining adoringly that her sort of niece was too heavy, and Ginny made sure Lily was okay every ten feet or so. Scorpius carried everything else out, and Lily lead the way to his car, not seeing the slow smile that spread over the blond man's face as she moved around to the passenger door out of habit. He beeped the car unlocked, the womenfolk got in, Rose and Lily in back, and Ginny in the front passenger seat, and Scorpius swallowed thickly as he climbed in and started the engine.

He supposed he should go to her flat, even if that wasn't what he wanted. He  _wanted_  to take Lily and Helena to his condo, and convince the redhead she should stay with him, because he couldn't imagine what his life would be like if she were gone. And then, just as he began backing out of his parking space, Lily came to his rescue, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror.

"You can drop Mum off at home, and then Rose, and then you can take me home," she said, and smiled softly, looking like a radiant goddess again, and Scorpius almost backed up into another car before he stopped himself.

"Sure," he said roughly, feeling his heart thudding contentedly in his throat, even as Ginny began scowling and protesting she come home with Lily, to make sure she was alright. Rose all but insisted, that as godmother and middle namesake, she simply  _couldn't_  be parted from little Helena just yet.

Lily stood firm, stating she wanted to have some down time to just adjust to being a mother and having a baby, and spend time bonding with her little one uninterrupted. And neither Rose or Ginny could say anything after that. So when Scorpius turned out of Rose's apartment complex parking lot, he looked over at her, wondering if he would be so privileged as to be present for the baby bonding, and maybe get some of his own with the little person he'd made and now loved unconditionally.

"Where to?" he murmured, pausing at the entrance to the lot, eyes meeting her in the rearview again.

"Home," she said easily, and glanced at the still sleeping baby. "You know, that place I live?" she added teasingly.

Scorpius bit back the urge to cry and nodded. "Sure," he said, only a little gruffly, and turned left, away from his place, toward hers. He wanted to hit something, and clenched his jaw, driving cautiously and a little slower than he normally did feeling more and more mutinous and furious as they came ever closer to Lily's flat.

"Well, here we are," Lily said at last, and Scorpius grit his teeth into the semblance of a smile. "Will you walk me up?" she asked, looking down for the forty eighth time on the journey at the sleeping baby.

"Of course," Scorpius said, relieved she had asked so he wouldn't have to. "Come on."

He carried, once again, all the baggage, and this time Helena too, and while Lily knew it was probably all outrageously heavy he didn't make a peep. And the redhead, as soon as they got in after taking the elevator, took the heavy car seat with sleeping baby, from his arms. "Thanks for everything," she said with feeling, glancing over her shoulder at him, and Scorpius, who had set the bags down carefully, smiled coldly back.

"No problem," he said without inflection and Lily sucked in a deep breath. She glanced up at Scorpius as he swallowed, and looked her in the eye, pinning her with his piercing, dark grey gaze. "Can I at least say goodbye to Helena?" he asked softly, looking as if the words cost him in more than money.

"Of course," Lily breathed, even as her heart clenched painfully in her chest, and she felt anxious that he would really just leave her. She watched Scorpius carefully unbuckle the sleeping infant, lifting her up to snuggle her, kissing her and murmuring into her ear words Lily couldn't quite catch. Her stomach dropped, because while she sort of figured Scorpius would be as good at fatherhood as he was everything else, the natural way he not just handled, but seemed to understand, little Helena, blew her away. And Lily knew, in that moment, she couldn't be without him, at least not yet.  _I have to make him stay._  She just had no idea how.

XXX


	15. Should I Stay or Should I Go?

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Fifteen - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Lily Potter looked up at the father of her daughter and saw his shoulders lift and fall in a silent sigh, and then he passed Lily the infant, looking the tiniest bit rueful. "She always poops on me," he said with a self deprecating smirk.

The redhead, feeling a surge of emotions, gulped, and before she knew it, she was talking, the words pouring out without thought. "Then you can change her, if you think you're up for it. There's also lots to be unpacked, and a couple things I might need the tiniest bit of help with, so, um, it would be a real help if you could maybe, if you're not busy, stay for a little, just so I can get some last minute things done, you know. Is that at all, um, possible?" She paused to draw breath, Scorpius merely staring at her, and even though she felt herself starting to blush, her stupid mouth just kept on talking. "Unless you  _are_ busy, of course. Which you probably are. I mean, I totally understand because, y'know, you have a life that doesn't include me and Helena, which is fine, because obviously your job is kind of about networking, so I don't want you to feel like there's any pressure, or even think I'm-"

"Lily," Scorpius cut across her firmly, and she bit her lip, blushing in earnest, feeling stupid and embarrassed, and utterly silly. And the tiniest sliver of her was afraid of what Scorpius might think about her sanity, or lack thereof, in that moment. "You're rambling," he said, smiling a little.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Yeah I do that. James always said I only talked to hear the sound of my own voice, so I guess he's actually right, although in my defence, this time, I'm only talking so much because you're not really saying anything, and-"

"Lily," Scorpius said again, and the redhead was fairly certain her face would be stuck being red for the next month or so, because it felt hot enough to fry eggs on.

"Sorry," she breathed, and then Scorpius lifted the baby from her arms again, looking pleased, and smoothed a hand over her very messy hair that was half falling from its haphazard bun, and leaned down, kissing her. Lily's heart thudded painfully, buoyed up to throat region, almost choking her, and her eyes filled with tears at the tender gesture.

"Don't be darling. But this little lady  _definitely_  stinks. " Lily swallowed, forcing her turbulent emotions down, and sucked in a ragged breath that definitely hinted at poo.

"Come on, then," she said briskly, moving toward the bedroom where she had both cot and change table set up across from her own bed. "It would be nice if you could handle some of the output since I'm doing all of the input," she said, casting Scorpius a glance as he very carefully lowered the baby onto the change table.

"I'll do my best," the blond said, and paused. Lily bit back the urge to smile, because he looked distinctly resigned and moderately terrified.

"Well you might want to take off her pants and undo the onesie first," the redhead said lightly, and watched Scorpius as he, very gently and excruciatingly slowly, stripped the infant. "A little faster," she teased. He frowned.

"I don't want to wake her," he said, even as he reached to undo the nappy.

"It's fine, she'll go right back to sleep. Or she'll just stare up at you," Lily said, smiling, and stayed his hand by lightly putting hers atop his. Scorpius froze. "A good tip is to get the clean nappy and wipes ready before you unleash whatever mess is in here," she added, and Scorpius looked around, his dark grey eyes twin pools of panic. "Just there," Lily said, pointing to the shelf she'd gotten and put over the change table. One side was diapers, all stacked and ready, with a box of baby wipes beside, and the other end held emergency clothing changes.

"Convenient," Scorpius murmured, and sucked in a breath before holding it and undoing the nappy. Helena scrunched her face up and let out a little cry of discomfort. "It's okay, sweetheart," Scorpius said, and then gagged a little. "Oh God, maybe not the smell. No wonder you're upset," he murmured, and Lily smirked, because seeing Scorpius Malfoy, stoic political aide and suave bachelor, cooing at a baby and gagging during his first bum change, had to rank as beyond weird, and yet Lily found it oddly endearing. He wiped little Helena tenderly, grimacing as he went back for two more baby wipes, and Lily peeked round to make sure he'd done okay. To her surprise, it looked perfect.

"And now the clean nappy," she said, and handed one down as she made to wrap up the soiled one. "Tabs in the back," she said as he opened it and Helena kicked her little legs experimentally.

"That was bloody awful," he murmured to the baby, who still had her eyes closed, but who moved her limbs around instinctively. And then Helena's little eyes flickered open, and she looked without quite seeing properly at her father, who instantly felt as though he'd climbed Mount Everest in a day he was so proud. Because she was whole and healthy, and unbearable adorable. Her plump cheeks and light blue eyes complimented the shock of gingery blond hair atop her head, and the peachy fuzz around the rest, and Scorpius couldn't help but think, even as she made a face at him, her rosy mouth was precisely the same as Lily's.

"She's perfect," he mumbled, feeling close to crying, and told himself sternly to man up. It was still a close thing.

Especially when Lily put her arm around his waist, leaning into his shoulder slightly, and murmured back, "Yeah."

He opened his mouth to tell her again that she meant more than the world to him, simply for bearing the best gift he'd ever gotten, and he loved her more than he could explain or even comprehend, and she had to come home with him, and Helena, or he wouldn't be complete anymore. But then Helena let out a wail and Lily snapped back into Mother Mode, buttoning the onesie and sliding the infant efficiently into pants again. So instead he found himself saying, "What else do you need to get done?"

Lily looked around. "Well," she began, and then headed out of the bedroom with the baby, talking full speed, once again, about the half dozen minute things she needed done. Scorpius fought the urge to grin, because he had a suspicion she was simply trying to make him stay. Which, the blond had to admit, he had no problem with. So he played along.

And so for the first week Lily was home from the hospital, Scorpius all but lived with her. And Lily had to admit, it was certainly something she could get used to. They'd quickly worked out a semblance of a routine, and Lily had finally managed, after Scorpius pushed incessantly, to let the baby sleep in her own crib. Lily couldn't help it, she was greedy, and wanted as much of Helena as she could get, but she knew it had to be done. Helena didn't seem to mind much either way.

And then, on the seventh day, on the eve of Christmas Eve no less, Scorpius said, "I have to go into work tomorrow." Lily almost laughed, because she thought, for an instant, as she fed the baby on her couch, the remnants of their late dinner still on the coffee table before them, he was joking. And then she looked up at him, and saw he was dead serious.

"Oh," she said, a little blankly, and forced a nod that just kept going. "Okay," she said. "That's fine," she added, even if it wasn't, because she'd wanted to get the last of her gifts wrapped, and was hoping he'd be able to watch the baby. And then Lily felt a jolt of discomfort, because she shouldn't count on him.  _Ever._  Because Scorpius wasn't a guaranteed part of her life.

Once she was fed and burped, the tall blond took Helena off to bed and then came back to find Lily simultaneously pumping and having an after dinner snack. "If you're free before I go to bed tomorrow, swing by," she said with her mouth full of tortilla crisps and salsa.

"Or," he countered, looking inscrutable, "you could stay at my place."

Lily did laugh this time, almost spitting salsa and tortilla crisps everywhere. "Yeah right," she said automatically. "That's crazy."

"Why?" Scorpius demanded, brow furrowing slightly.

"It's not just me," Lily said simply. "It's me, and Helena, and all the stuff she comes with." The redhead picked up another chip, and gestured vaguely toward herself with it. "Including this beast of a pump, and a bunch else." She looked at him, frowning, because he didn't seem displeased by that notion, and Lily, despite her biggest hopes, told herself Scorpius wasn't pleased at the thought of her lactating self and their baby staying with him. Because to get her hopes up would probably mean having them dashed.

"So?" Scorpius countered and Lily rolled hazel eyes at him. He was so oblivious.

"We'd take over your condo," she replied, and put salsa on her chip. "And anyway, I'm already settled here. And it would cost you a fortune to have us, because you know Helena. Two in the morning is playtime, and everything else is usually eating or pooping related."

Scorpius rolled dark grey eyes at her. "Yes, and when she eats, you eat like a starving person. I've heard." His mouth set into a firm, stubborn line. "I've also had you live with me while eight months pregnant, darling," he said in a low voice, and Lily shuddered, her lady bits throbbing, because that was kind of reminiscent of the sexy blond's bedroom voice. "I doubt it can cost much more."

"I'd still be a burden," she murmured halfheartedly. She glanced around at her messy flat, privately thinking she'd probably have his place looking like a pigsty too.

"Not in the slightest," Scorpius replied immediately. "And honestly," he continued, when she frowned, "I'm only asking to be entirely selfish. I don't want to be away from Helena just yet, even for a day." Scorpius didn't add that he was was equally loathe to spend a day away from Lily either, because he doubted she'd take that revelation seriously.

"Which I get," the redhead admitted, picking up another crisp. "I mean, really, she's probably the most beautiful baby  _ever._  But it's just silly. Go to your place for one day? What's the point?"

"Who says is only has to be for a day?" Lily's brows shot up and Scorpius kicked himself mentally.

"Are you daft?" she asked, mouth dropping open. There was no way he was proposing they all just live together indefinitely...was there?

"Yes," he replied evenly, and hazel eyes rolled. "I'm serious. I like having you and the bean around."

Lily gulped, telling herself it was stupid, foolish, to think he meant anything other than his desire to have Helena around, and that he only included her in that statement because she was the ringleader for Helena's accoutrements and, currently, her foodsource. It almost worked, and yet there was still a tiny sliver of Lily that all but screamed, 'YES!'. And even if he too had started calling Helena the bean, it didn't matter, although part of her felt dangerously weepy when she thought about it. "I still don't think that's a good idea, Scorpius," she said, but Scorpius sat down beside her, reaching for her hand.

"It's not a good idea" he said with feeling. "It's a great idea. I have more room, and we both know I can afford it," she shot him a dirty look at that, "and I need your help anyway." Dark red brows pulled together.

"My help?" she asked. "With what?"

The blond's cheeks went a little pink, and he cleared his throat, looking a smidge uncomfortable. "Well, I figured, since there might come a point, if you agree of course," he said haltingly, "it would be a good idea to have some things at my place for Helena." Lily's mouth parted because that sounded an awful lot like he was saying he'd planned on having Helena stay with him more than just once. And maybe even without her. "I persuaded my housekeeper to set up a little nursery for her," he said, cheeks going a darker pink. "And while it's completely up to you if she visits, I wanted to be prepared just in case. Even if it's not for awhile," Scorpius mumbled. Lily blinked. "And I need your help," the blond continued, "because you obviously have a great set up and I want everything to feel the same for Helena if she ever comes over to my place. So I need your help to make sure it's not royally cocked up."

Lily could only stare, feeling her eyes fill with tears, because there was part of her that crumbled at those words and another that felt bone chilling, ice cold dread at them.  _Why would he need a nursery at his place unless he planned to-_? She shook her head.  _No. He wouldn't take her. He knows she needs me._  "Well," Lily hedged, feeling uneasy and unsure, but then Scorpius sighed, releasing her hand. "I mean, I could help you out, I suppose," she said slowly. He grinned with obvious relief, at a million watts, and something warm burst into life in Lily's chest as a thousand butterflies took wing in her gut.

"Really?" he breathed.

"Sure," she replied.

"Does that mean you'll stay over?" Lily hesitated, and Scorpius pulled out his trump card, although he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to, but he could see no other option. "And I sort of promised my mother we'd be there Boxing Day, so she could come and visit. She's been going completely insane, absolutely frothing at the bit actually, to meet Helena, even though she understands you needed time."

He could tell he'd won Lily over when her expression softened and her hazel eyes grew dreamy, face lighting up with her goddess smile. "I suppose," she murmured. "But we're not moving in with you," she added. Scorpius nodded.

"Thank you," he murmured, squeezing her hand, and she smirked.

"You're welcome. But fair warning, your place is probably going to get turned upside down." Scorpius smiled, because he was rather looking forward to it.

"Duly noted, Lily. Although half your stuff is still there from last time," he teased.

The redhead snorted, selected another crisp, and then dunked it in salsa. "Just wait and see."

Christmas morning dawned sunny and frigid outside the floor to ceiling windows in Scorpius's bedroom, and he rolled over in bed, grunting a little, and reached for Lily on instinct. He frowned when he couldn't feel her, and cracked an eye open. His bed was utterly empty.

Both eyes snapped open and Scorpius sat up, remembering instantly what day it was and where the redheaded, hazel eyed woman of his dreams was. She'd fallen asleep on the little futon in Helena's room, the same as she'd done the night before as well, convinced it would be best to stay in the same room as her baby. And Scorpius remembered, with teeth gritting in disappointment, going to bed alone, and missing Lily's presence beside him.

And for the first time, Scorpius almost regretted asking Lily to come and stay with him, at least over Christmas and the surrounding days. But after he stretched and rolled out of bed, yawning hugely, and shuffling out to find his baby and her mama in his kitchen, the latter with her tank top hiked up over her breasts and bunched around her armpits feeding the former and wearing his stolen pyjama bottoms right up past her belly button. He couldn't resist the smile, because although he'd seen Lily's breasts many a time, they still never failed to entice him, even if they weren't his property anymore.

"Morning," the redhead said, flashing him a smile, even as she rocked back and forth while nursing, coffee abandoned on the counter, her half eaten breakfast beside it.

"Good morning," he said, a little rougher than intended, but he was already hard and horny, and seeing Lily always made him in the mood, especially when her free breast was just as exposed, looking succulent, and full, and tempting as all get out.  _She's off limits. Period._  His cock didn't care, because he wanted regardless of anything his logical brain told him. "Happy Christmas," he added trying to modulate his tone so it wasn't obvious he was having difficulty thinking of anything other than peeling Lily's clothes off entirely and making love to her until he couldn't move.

"Happy Christmas," she said, smiling softly, and promptly blushed, turning away from him and moving into the living room. Scorpius followed, watching her readjust her tank after applying one of the little pads for her nipples, and she turned back around, smiling apologetically. And Scorpius had to resist the urge to frown when he noticed she'd covered herself up once more. "I made coffee," Lily said, and Scorpius smirked, because once she'd figured out his very modern espresso machine, she'd proceeded to try every drink option available.

"Regular coffee?" he asked, pleased that she followed when he went to see for himself.

"Yes," she said, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw hazel eyes rolling. "Except I used those flavoured beans," she said, "so it's decaf."

The blond hummed with amusement. "So not really regular coffee at all," he said. The redhead shrugged with a single shoulder.

"I'll make lattes tomorrow, then."

Scorpius chuckled, moving to pour himself a cup of coffee regardless. "Are we opening presents here?" he murmured after a comfortable silence. Lily's mouth pursed.

"Of course," she said. Scorpius felt a jolt of relief, because he had zero intentions of gifting Lily with her Christmas present from him around anyone else, except Helena. "You don't actually have to come to my Nan's, if you don't want," she finally added, looking torn.

"Do you want me to come?" he asked. Lily sucked in a breath, not meeting his eyes, and blew it out.

"Yeah," she admitted very softly. And the redhead, despite not wanting to, despite halfway to telling him she was good, and it would probably be best if she just went with Helena by herself, couldn't lie. She did want him to come because, although she had mostly gotten a routine down, and had managed to sleep mostly normally, was still exhausted, and kind of sore, and knew Christmas Day at her Nan's, while memorable, would be hellish if she went alone.

And Lily, despite not wanting to even more, and actually feeling guilty a little, couldn't deny, the only other human she remotely trusted her precious baby with was Scorpius. "Then I'll be there" he replied, smiling at her, and Lily hated that she felt a burst of something akin to desire and terrifyingly close to the four letter L-word that wasn't just like.

"Alright." She finished feeding the baby and passed her to Scorpius, who kissed her tenderly and burped her easily. Lily pulled her ratty old pink fuzzy robe on, feeling self conscious as she felt dark grey eyes rove over her again. She wasn't the same shape she'd been even a week ago, and while it was nice to know Scorpius was, if his looks were any indicator, still even the slightest bit interested, she still felt uneasy about him seeing her, any part of her really, below shoulders and above knees.

"Gifts then?" he said, and Lily couldn't help but smile. He was in pyjamas, hair unbrushed, growing a three day beard, and still had the burp cloth thrown over a shoulder as he settled the baby in her little bouncy seat and sat beside her on the couch. He looked distinctly domesticated.

She'd been shocked, when she'd come to stay, to see that Scorpius had a little potted evergreen tree, complete with tasteful, if minimal, decorations and lights in a pleasing red and gold scheme, for the holidays. She'd somehow assumed he wasn't the celebrating type. And now, seeing the dozen or so gifts beneath the tree, most of which were addressed to the baby, she felt warm and fuzzy inside, and distinctly emotional. "Sure," she said, sipping her coffee. "Are we going to open Helena's presents for her?"

They both glanced at the sleeping, cherubic face of their daughter, and smiled at one another. "You open the ones I got her, and I'll open the ones you got her?" Scorpius suggested.

"Deal."

Lily unwrapped fuzzy cat pyjamas for the baby that made her smile, and Scorpius laughed at the onesie she'd gotten for Helena. It was pink and decorated with little gifts bearing three dimensional bows, and the slogan 'I Have Daddy Wrapped'. Then came a set of books from Scorpius, and a playmat from Lily, complete with mirror.

"I have a feeling she's going to like looking at herself," Scorpius teased.

"Oh yeah?" Lily said, brow raised.

"Of course. She's bloody gorgeous, and once she sees herself once, it'll be goodbye everyone else, hello reflection."

Lily laughed. "You'd know," she teased back. "You probably spend more time in the bathroom than I do getting ready."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, because that was  _one time_ , because he'd turned a little wild after staying with Lily for a week. It had taken more than a little time to tackle his beard, and Lily hardly even took the time away from the baby to shower, let alone spend more than ten minutes, tops. They opened yet more presents, and then, at last, came the awkward moment where the last two gifts under the tree were addressed to each other, from one another.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Lily murmured, blushing, feeling embarrassed. Scorpius shrugged, trying to avoid feeling the same way.

"Well I figured you deserve something, because I already have the best gift." Lily's cheeks darkened at that admission and her lashes lowered as she picked hesitantly at the wrapping paper.

"Me too," she mumbled a tad defensively, because she was feeling dangerously close to admitting she was hopelessly in love with him, even if he'd just laugh in her face. "Anyway, open yours," she said eagerly, because she rather thought it was a good gift, and she was almost positive he would like it.

His mouth quirked up a little on one side and he slowly unwrapped his gift. Inside was white box, and he lifted the lid and felt himself go very still, his entire being almost ceasing to exist. Because within was photograph of him, holding little Helena in both hands and brushing a kiss over her forehead like he did every night before he laid her down to sleep, wishing her sweet dreams and goodnight. And Scorpius couldn't help but remember when Lily had taken it, and even if he'd been almost furious at the time, because she'd tried to deny it, and although he'd let it slide, Scorpius had  _known_  she'd taken his picture. And now, seeing that moment immortalized forever, he felt a hard lump of emotion in his throat.

"You do like it, right?" Lily said softly. He couldn't speak past the damnable lump, but he nodded. "I figured you could put it on your desk," she said softly, and when Scorpius tore his eyes away from the photograph, his breathing caught, because Lily was all radiant goddess, looking right into his soul with her hazel eyes and knowing smile. "Then even if you're at work, you're never really away from her."

That made Scorpius feel dangerously close to weeping, and he covered the tense moment where he reined in his emotions by leaning over to kiss Helena's fuzzy head. "Thank you," he said at last.

"You're welcome."

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Open yours."

Lily fingered the little bow on the relatively small box wrapped in gold paper, looking hesitant. "It's not expensive, is it?' she murmured. Because she had a sudden horrible thought that small boxes sometimes had expensive, jewelry-type gifts inside. And if that was the case, there was absolutely no way she could ever accept it, whatever it was.

"No," he blond said, smirking a tiny bit, and Lily felt relieved.  _Only maybe he just means not expensive to_ him _._

"You stayed on budget, right?" she clarified, a little harsher, looking up at him expectantly. Scorpius grinned, because he'd thought the budget Lily had set for any gifts they might get one another to be no more than twenty dollars was silly. But he'd stuck to it.

"Of course," he said. The wrapping paper had almost cost more than the damn gift itself. "Are you going to open it or not?"

Lily sucked in a breath and then opened her gift, undoing the pretty wrapping paper efficiently, and slid the plain black box out of the embossed gold paper. And while it didn't look like a jewelry box, looks could often be deceiving. She held her breath as she lifted the lid, then let it out in a whoosh, frowning. Because the redhead was staring down at a simple silver key, that looked altogether unassuming and innocent and completely ordinary.

"I don't get it," she said at last, looking at him.

Scorpius barely resisted the urge to sigh. "It's a key," he said. Hazel eyes rolled.

"Obviously. What's it for?"

Scorpius couldn't help but grin a little. "It's for here."

Lily merely blinked, then said after a long pause, "I still don't get it."

Scorpius did sigh now. "It's for my condo," he clarified, and Lily merely stared back. "So that, if you want, of course, you can...stay."

Lily's mouth parted, eyes going wide as comprehension dawned, and she stared down at the little silver key with a much better understanding of its meaning now, and she felt her heart clogging up her throat. Because she wanted to say yes, except she couldn't possibly. Never. ...Could she?  _You're already here anyway. And his place is way nicer than yours_. But no, she couldn't. "I can't," she said flatly.

The blond frowned. "Can't what?" he demanded.

Lily opened her mouth to tell him all the reasons, but they wouldn't come. She wanted to be with Scorpius, even if it was only temporarily for him, and wanted him to help raise their daughter. She wanted to stay with him, where she could pretend they had more than just a co-parenting relationship. And most of all, Lily wanted to stay because she loved him, and she could no longer fathom a world without him in it every day. Scorpius had woven himself into the fabric of her existence so seamlessly that to cut him out would mean losing a great deal of herself, and Lily doubted she could do it.

"I can't…" she breathed, and then her lower lip wobbled.

"You don't have to," Scorpius said automatically, but Lily shook her head.

"I want to," she admitted, and then burst into tears, because she'd never much wanted anything more, at least since peeing on a stick and finding out less than two minutes later she would be a mother. And then Scorpius was pulling her into his arms and murmuring that he was sorry and he'd never meant to put her on the spot, and he was sorry, and he didn't want her to cry because he was just really sorry. Lily sobbed harder, because although she was all but convinced her feelings for him would never be returned to the same degree, it was painful to not tell him how horribly in love with him she was. But she couldn't risk it.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Lily," Scorpius whispered yet again, and Lily sucked in a shuddering breath, forcing herself to get it together.

"Don't be," she replied and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, I'm hormonal, but, um, yeah." She blushed. "I… Thanks. It means a lot. And I'd like to. Stay, that is, um, for awhile anyway." Lily's blush deepened, competing with her hair to be redder, because she was blathering like an idiot now.

"Excellent," the grey eyed blond replied, and his gaze darted down toward her mouth for a beat. "And thank you."

"You're welcome," Lily replied automatically, unable to help but look at Scorpius's mouth in turn.

His lips tilted into the sexy half smile that had done her in all those months ago, on her birthday, and she almost forgot how to breathe. And just when her eyelids were about to flutter shut, certain Scorpius was about to kiss her, Helena woke up with a pitiful cry that sounded distinctly like gas. Lily told herself it was for the best, even as her mood flattened and she felt distinctly let down. She lifted the baby from her seat and laid her out on the couch, so focused on her task of easing her daughter's discomfort, she didn't see Scorpius's look of equal disappointment their little bean had ruined the moment.

XXX


	16. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Sixteen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Scorpius sighed contentedly as he sat back on his couch, Lily reclining against his chest, lying back between his legs, and little Helena snuggled up and sleeping on Lily's chest. It was Boxing Day evening and his Christmas wish had come true, and he was exquisitely full on excellent leftovers courtesy of Molly Weasley. All in all, the world was perfect. The blond couldn't help but brush his mouth over Lily's temple, loving her more than mere words could ever express, because in that moment, he felt so utterly and completely whole, it was damn near impossible to bear. "I'm really glad you're here," he said honestly, and after the ordeal he'd endured from Lily, insisting she would be a burden, saying she couldn't possibly stay, he really was inordinately pleased to have both Lily and their daughter at home with him, snuggling on his couch.

"Me too," Lily sighed, sounding exhausted, and he moved his hands to gently massage her shoulders, smirking when she groaned her approval. "Now I'm  _really_  glad," she sighed, and Scorpius grinned, turning his mouth in to kiss her neck.

"You're also the filling in a Malfoy sandwich," he rumbled, reaching around to smooth a hand over the sleeping baby's head. And the thought made the blond feel impossibly more pleased.

"What are you talking about?" Lily murmured dreamily, and Scorpius wondered if she was dozing. And then suddenly the redhead stiffened, and sat up, away from him. He tried not to scowl. "I guess it's time we had this conversation," the redhead sighed, and to Scorpius's frustration, she stood up off the couch. "Um," she began, rocking the baby, who stirred, seeming to sense her mother's tension.

"Um what?" Scorpius probed flatly. And then it hit him, why Lily looked uneasy and wasn't meeting his gaze, and why she looked on the verge of blushing. She felt guilty, because she had no intentions whatsoever of giving their daughter,  _his_  daughter, his last name.

"I think, um, Helena should have my name. She's a Potter."

"That's nice," Scorpius said, looking quietly furious and shocked to Lily. "You can't just pretend she's not a Malfoy either." Lily pursed her mouth, because she knew he'd go there.

"She's my baby," Lily said defensively, and Scorpius sucked in a deep breath. She felt her cheeks go red, blushing, because she felt guilty saying that, but there was a strong part of her, even though it was small, that still wanted to hoard little Helena to herself entirely. And that part fueled her temper.

"Whom you wouldn't even have without me," Scorpius shot back, and Lily flinched a little, tears welling even as she grit her teeth. The blond pushed a hand through his hair, taking another deep breath. "I'm willing to compromise," he said softly, and when Lily waited to hear his version of compromise, which she knew would be something along the lines of Malfoy-Potter, he frowned. "Are you?"

"Maybe," Lily hedged, because despite feeling angry he was pushing so hard to have his way, she could see an olive branch when it was offered, and she knew pissing him off would only lead to something worse. Like the realization of her deepest fears. "What do you propose?" she asked softly.

Scorpius bit back the initial urge to reply, 'Marry me and we can all be Malfoys', because he could just picture Lily either laughing at him or up and leaving for good, neither of which he wanted to experience. Because while he knew Lily wouldn't respond well, Scorpius was only kidding in the very slightest. He felt he could spend the rest of eternity with Lily and it still wouldn't be quite long enough to get enough of her. And he'd never, ever in a million years, considered marriage, to anyone, but now that he'd thought it…  _No. She'd never say yes_.

"Give her both last names," Scorpius said simply, and Lily frowned a tiny bit, even as Helena moved against her chest, grasping blindly, probably wanting to eat again. Lily sighed mentally, but forced a shrug.

"Potter-Malfoy, or no deal." Scorpius frowned a bit now, and the redhead rolled hazel eyes.

"You're stubborn," he said, looking cross, but resigned.

"You're pushy," she replied tartly, and Scorpius almost smiled. "And arrogant. And kind of an asshole sometimes." The redhead scowled.

"Guilty on all charges," the blond replied smugly, and Lily glared menacingly. "But for the record, I'm not  _always_  a pushy, arrogant asshole."

Lily wanted to throw something at him she was so angry, but sucked in a deep breath, channeling her energy into pacing, soothing the baby as she slowly calmed herself. And then Scorpius was standing behind her, arms wrapped with casual intimacy around her waist, even though it made her the tiniest bit uncomfortable, because her belly felt  _weird_. "Sometimes," she finally admitted, and leaned into him with the baby, feeling resigned. "I swear, though, honestly," she breathed, feeling her eyelids get heavy. Because Scorpius was so  _warm_  and smelled good, and the baby was just the right weight in her arms and against her chest.

"Don't fall asleep standing up, Lily," Scorpius teased, and she nodded lazily. His hand moved to cup Helena's little bottom, holding her closer.

"I won't," she hummed. It was mostly not a lie, because she rather reckoned she could, but she wasn't silly enough to. "But for real," she mumbled, eyelids drooping, feeling herself drifting a tiny bit. She vaguely registered that Scorpius steered them toward the couch again, and tried to remember what she was saying. It had felt important… Helena rooted against Lily's breast and she sighed, because she was exhausted after a tiring day that capped off three very long days of holidays and being busy.

"You lay down, I'll feed the baby," Scorpius was murmuring and Lily's lips tilted into a smile.

"How are you going to do that?" she mumbled. She was fairly positive he hadn't grown boobs that made milk for the hungry, bottomless pit that was Helena Rose Potter-Malfoy since she'd last seen verifiably for herself.

"Don't worry about it," he murmured softly, and Lily laid down on the couch as he lifted the baby from her arms.

"Okay," she mumbled, because Scorpius sounded so utterly sure of things it was easier to just sleep. And she felt herself drift off in record time as her exhausted body and mind shut down to sleep, and didn't fear, in the slightest, that Scorpius would take Helena and run, because she was staying with him, and they were a family. And then she remembered, just as she hovered on the brink of consciousness, even if altered, she was going to tell Scorpius it was a good thing she loved him, because he was a right prick sometimes.

Scorpius watched Lily fall asleep, then looked down at the baby in his arms, who was nuzzling into him, looking for food. Scorpius just prayed he could do as he'd said, and actually feed the baby. Before his daughter had been born Scorpius had gone, very secretly and covertly, because he'd known Lily would balk at the idea, and purchased a set of very reputable, well reviewed bottles, and the various accoutrements, and hidden them in case a time ever came where he might need them, or Lily might want them.

He moved to settle Helena in her bouncy chair while he got the bottles out and washed and sanitized them, then carefully warmed milk that had taken up residence in his fridge courtesy of the sleeping redhead. And as, at last, he got the bottle ready to go and moved to pick up a now definitely hungry Helena, Scorpius hoped to every god and deity he could think of that he wasn't doing something wrong.

He moved to the second bedroom, because he was hoping Helena would eat and go back to sleep, and sat in the rocking chair that he'd seen Lily passed out in more than once in the last few days to feed her. At first, he felt tense and unsure, but then Scorpius told himself to man up and figure it out, and found a more natural hold for Helena along the length of his forearm, and tested the bottle against her hungry mouth, even as she cried out pitifully.

"Come on, darling," Scorpius murmured, brushing the fake nipple against the baby's mouth, seeing her try to grasp it, and he moved the bottle into her mouth. She suckled, then wriggled and cried out, trying to suckle again, but it was obviously not doing the trick. Scorpius moved the bottle around until he found an angle Helena seemed to be able to work with, and for several long moments after she'd settled in to feed, Scorpius fought the urge to cry.

He lost the battle, and a half dozen thoroughly unmanly tears dripped down his cheeks before he brushed them off on his shirt, sniffling the tiniest bit. It was surreal, seeing the little life he'd donated half the genetics for, eating contentedly for him. "There we are, darling," he murmured, stroking one of her plump cheeks lovingly with his pinky finger. "I'm not so bad at this, right? And now Mum can have some rest, because she does an awful lot, don't you think?" Helena merely looked up at him, her bright blue eyes judging him, and tiny hands clutching at the bottle. Scorpius felt his eyes get misty again, and smiled down at this daughter. "She does," he told her decisively. "And we love her, so we're going to let her get some much deserved rest." Helena stared back solemnly, looking wise beyond her days, and the blond kissed her forehead gently. "And maybe we can get to know one another properly," he added in a soft whisper.

The last days of the year slowly slipped past, and before Lily knew it, it was the day before New Year's Eve, and Scorpius had called to tell her he wouldn't be home until late, because he couldn't miss several important meetings set up after hours for his candidate. The redhead, while feeling deflated, understood, and promised to leave dinner for him.

They'd entertained, through the last week or so, almost all of their collective family members, including the intensely formidable Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, who'd been as captivated by baby Helena as Astoria Malfoy had been, and congratulated Lily on such an adorable infant. So when Lily's cell rang and she saw it was Rose, she picked up straight away, hoping her cousin would want to come visit for awhile, because that would undoubtedly distract her from missing the man she had almost no business missing. "Hey Rose."

"Hey girl," the auburn haired woman said, sounding in a superb mood, and Lily found herself grinning. "Are you busy? I want to come see my squishy."

"You know I'm never busy anymore," Lily laughed, and could picture Rose rolling blue eyes. "Come by whenever."

"Okay, well I'm downstairs."

Lily laughed properly, and heard Rose sigh impatiently. "Okay, but I've told you, just buzz up."

"I like to make sure you're decent," Rose replied, and Lily hung up, then buzzed her cousin into Scorpius's condo building and waited for the knock on the front door. She answered the door with Helena nestled in her arm a few minutes later, and felt a jolt of surprise, and moderate suspicion, when Chris Pashkov was standing there beside Rose.

"Oh," she said blankly, then recovered her manners, and stood back so her guests could enter. "Hi, c'mon in."

"Good to see you too, Little Potter," Chris teased, and Lily blushed lightly, handing over the baby to a greedy Rose and taking coats as boots were removed and went to the kitchen to flick on coffee.

"Sorry," she said bluntly, "but normally Rose doesn't bring men when she comes to visit. Especially ones like you."

Rose shot her cousin a warning look, but Chris laughed as they followed. "I hope not."

Lily frowned, because Rose glared at Chris now, then sighed when she looked down at Helena staring up at her. "Good job, Pashov, you prick, you woke her up."

"She should be good to snuggle still," Lily said, glancing at the clock on the microwave as they passed the kitchen and the redhead resumed her station on the couch. She glanced around at the untidiness and frowned. "Sorry for the mess," she mumbled, but Rose waved a hand.

"Yeah right, honey, it's not even messy," she said, settling beside Lily, laying the baby out on her thighs and smiling down at her. "Oh I'm so glad you're just going to be awake and not cry at me," Rose added in a coo.

Chris snorted, and said with blunt honesty, "Don't lie to her, Rosie," sitting down on Rose's other side, and the auburn haired woman shot him a dirty look. "This place is a mess. Tell Scor to do some housework, Little Potter."

Lily rolled her eyes, expertly reaching over for some rogue spit up that tried to escape her notice before it hit Rose's jeans. "Yeah right," she shot back, and Rose snorted now. "He has a maid for that."

"Let's hope it's not you," Chris teased. Lily threw the spit up blanket at him. "Seriously though, you don't mind living with a ghost?"

Lily's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Leave it, Chris," Rose hissed.

"No, what?" Lily pushed. Chris shrugged.

"Scorpius is a workaholic. I'm surprised you even see him. When we shared a flat, in university, he barely even slept there, and not just when he stayed with lady friends. Bastard works seven days a fucking week. Hell, even now he barely ever comes out."

Lily frowned, because that hadn't been her experience at all while living with Scorpius. Sure, sometimes his hours were weird, and sometimes he missed dinner, but he'd always been home either before she went to sleep, or with her when she woke. "Probably because Lily's better to come home to than you," Rose said nastily, but Chris grinned, eyes roving over Rose's frame with interest.

"If you say so, Rosie." Rose glared and Lily rolled hazel eyes, certain Chris was, as ever, stirring up unnecessary drama. "Lemme see the baby."

Rose pouted. "No, I've barely even had a turn."

Lily got up to get coffee. "No fighting, or I take her back," she said equably. "Coffee?"

"Please," Chris said. "Black, half a spoon of sugar."

Rose wrinkled her nose, and Lily sighed. "Fine, I'll boil water for tea," the redhead mumbled grudgingly. Rose beamed.

"You're the best, Lils. Lots of milk, please, and-"

"And no sugar, because you're sweet enough," Lily interrupted and smirked. "I know, Rose. I'll be back in a second." She went back to the kitchen and made hot beverages, hearing her cousin and Scorpius's friend bickering amicably about who should get to hold the baby, and for how long, and when Lily carried the drinks back, it was to find Rose still holding her goddaughter, looking smug. "You should know better than to argue with Rose. You'll never win, and it's easier to give in, Chris," Lily said, sipping her coffee. Chris, lounging on the couch looking utterly at ease, grinned lazily.

"Nah, Rosie always comes round, right love?" he drawled, glancing at her.

"Go fuck yourself," Rose snapped.

Chris looked shocked. "Rose, that kind of language around a baby? I think you might just be the worst godmother yet."

Lily laughed and the auburn haired woman smacked him. "Tosser," she grumbled, even as she too smiled a bit, and Lily looked between the two, wondering, and not for the first time, if there was something between Chris and her cousin. She'd seen them together on Christmas as well, acting the same as they were now, very friendly and yet still kind of rude to one another, which while not normal wasn't entirely weird, to see non-relatives dropping by her Nan's, or even Rose being rude to Chris. But now, seeing them together again, Lily couldn't help but wonder if there was something Rose wasn't telling her.

Rose and Chris finally left at eight, and Lily had no phone call and no texts from Scorpius. She got a text message at nine thirty, saying he was going to be late again, that he was sorry, to give Helena kisses for him, and that he would be back as soon as possible. And by the time eleven rolled around, and there was nothing else, Lily was feeling equally bothered and concerned. Scorpius had never stayed out so late before, working or otherwise, and even as she settled Helena down to sleep after her midnight feed, Lily couldn't help but wonder where the hell Scorpius was, and unable to help thinking the worst. And, because she missed him terribly, Lily moved with sure feet and a calm pulse to Scorpius's bedroom, and climbed into his bed before she laid down, on his pillows, feeling closer to him, and not caring that she was leaving herself vulnerable to questions about what the bloody hell she might be doing in her baby daddy's bed, without permission, sleeping like Goldilocks with red hair.

When Scorpius still hadn't come home when Lily woke at three to feed the baby, her temper ran out, and she was left only terrified that something awful had happened. Because although he'd never been the plan, and she'd never intended to have a father figure for her bean, let alone Scorpius, she couldn't see how she would do it without him now.

She chewed her nails, and paced, and talked aloud, quietly so as not to wake Helena, who had fallen asleep in her bouncy chair, to reassure herself, and spent a half hour cleaning the kitchen, trying to keep her mind off obsessing about every horrible scenario that could've befallen the handsome blond and how she might try to process it. Nothing worked.

At four she sat back down on the couch, feeling tears hovering as she glanced down at little Helena's sleeping, innocently beautiful face. Scorpius  _had_  to come back at some point, he just fucking  _had to_. If not for Lily's sake, then their daughter's. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a key turning in the lock on the front door, and started back up double time as the door opened, and when Scorpius walked in, she didn't care that he looked exhausted, or that he barely seemed to notice her standing in front of the couch in the living room, because all of a sudden, she was  _mad_. He didn't appear to be dying, so how bloody  _dare_  he not at least text her he was on his way home safely!?

Scorpius glanced up at her, seeming shocked she was standing there, and Lily felt her temper blaze, because he looked, and smelled, like he'd been drinking. "Hi," he said softly, glancing down at the sleeping baby. "I hope you're not waiting up. I told you I was going to be very late."

Lily grit her teeth. "Late was about three hours ago. Very late would've been an hour ago. Now you're just too early for the next morning."

Scorpius looked at her for a beat. "You sound upset."

"Of course I'm upset!" Lily snapped back. "It's four in the fucking morning and you're just getting home, half drunk, while I've been waiting and worrying for  _hours_ , convinced that the fucking worst had happened!"

Scorpius sighed, and rubbed his eyes, making Lily's teeth grit together. "I know, but there wasn't any need to worry. It's not the first time I've come home late. You should've slept, darling," he murmured, sounding apologetic, but Lily pushed him back when he moved to hug her.

"No! How hard is it to send me a text message, Scorpius?" she said, and felt her temper blaze as the baby stirred. "It probably didn't even cross your mind, did it, to let me know at least you'd be coming home safe at some point, did it?" she hissed, sneering.

Scorpius frowned. "I assumed you'd be sleeping," he said with a hint of defensiveness now. "And I didn't want to wake you."

Lily merely glared. "Oh, so that makes it better then? Alright, whatever." She snorted and stomped into the kitchen, feeling angry and hurt and like her heart might explode, because it was really bloody hard not to spit out how much she'd worried because she loved him.

"Look, I'm sorry you worried," Scorpius said fairly, following her with a resigned sort of sigh. "But I've had a long fucking day, and you need all the sleep you can get."

Lily shook her head telling herself she wasn't even going to get into it, opened the fridge door, and then slammed it shut again. She couldn't refrain from snapping back. "Really?  _Really_!? Oh my God, you are so fucking lucky I'm an idiot and fell for you, because sometimes you make me want to fucking scream. You should be sorry for staying out until four in the morning and not even fucking phoning or texting me when I should expect you, not sorry that I fucking worried, you dolt!"

Scorpius blinked, certain he'd misheard her, and that he was hallucinating after being up for pushing twenty two hours, on only four hours' sleep. There was no way, certainly not a snowball's chance in Hell, she'd said she'd fallen for him. And if by some miracle she had said it, she must not mean the way he had secretly been hoping she might since he'd realized he was besotted with her. Hell, even now when she was shouting and angrier than he'd almost ever seen her, she was gorgeous and he wanted to shut her up with a kiss and tell her he loved her.

"Come again?" he finally said, because Lily was glaring expectantly at him, and he felt like he should say something.

Hazel eyes all but bulged out of Lily's head and she let out an aggravated noise halfway between a growl and a scream, and Helena started crying in the living room. "You're a fucking idiot," she snarled viciously, stomping back toward their daughter. Scorpius followed as if in a dream.

"Before that part," he said, wanting to be certain he hadn't in fact hallucinated, and wondering if she'd possibly meant-

"And I'm just as fucking bad," she said, as if she hadn't heard him, "because even though I want to fucking punch you, I still fucking love you, and you can't even be bothered to fucking call."

Scorpius stopped breathing, and Lily paused, halfway bent to pick up the baby, who was wriggling and cried out again. "You-" Scorpius began, but then Lily was cutting him off.

"I mean, y'know, because of Helena," she said, not looking at him, at last picking up the infant. Scorpius shook his head.

"You just said-" he tried again.

"No I didn't!" Lily snapped over him.

Scorpius couldn't help but grin. "I heard you," he said. "You said you l-"

"So what? So what if I do?" Lily said, voice cracking a tiny bit on the last word. "Go ahead and laugh, then. It's kind of funny, I'm sure. I'm a fucking idiot and I love you, and you probably won't ever feel the same, and it doesn't matter, because it's not like-"

"But I do," he interrupted. Lily went still. "I do feel the same," Scorpius admitted, and silence fell, thick and heavy between them.

"Don't lie," Lily finally whispered, still not looking at him. "You love Helena, sure, but not-"

"Bullshit," Scorpius said firmly, and moved toward Lily. She looked up at him hesitantly, hazel eyes twin pools of fear. "Of course I love Helena, but probably not as much as I love you."

Lily felt something warm burst in her chest, cheeks flushing, and sucked in an unsteady breath. There was no way this was happening. Certainly Scorpius bloody Malfoy hadn't just said he loved her. ...Had he? "Say it again," she breathed.

Scorpius stared back at her, dark grey eyes steady and unwavering. "I love you. I've loved you since before we even knew Helena." Lily smiled and then, cursing her stupid hormones, promptly burst into tears. And not the quiet, romantic sort that dripped from lashes daintily, but great ugly sobs, complete with a runny nose, because she'd been so damn worried, and now Scorpius was home safe, and he loved her, and relief all but choked her. Scorpius folded her into his chest, and Lily tried to get it together, but she couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry," she gasped through her sobs.

"Don't be," Scorpius murmured, bending to kiss her cheek, then her jaw, and at last her mouth. "Don't be sorry in the slightest, darling. I'm the one who's sorry. I never wanted you to worry, or be upset with me." Lily couldn't help it, and kissed Scorpius again, because her foolish heart, buoyed up by the knowledge Scorpius accepted her love, and felt it in return, felt invincible.

"I really do love you, too," she murmured. Scorpius grinned against her mouth and she tried to convince herself it wasn't euphoria that had her feeling all tingly and warm. It didn't work. Helena gurgled and Lily pulled back, passing the baby as Scorpius reached for her, and the redhead was convinced she'd never be happier.

XXX


	17. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Seventeen - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The next month all but flew by for Lily. She was finding motherhood, in practicality, a lot more exhausting and difficult than she'd wagered on before Helena, but she was so blissfully happy, it was hard to begrudge it. Scorpius, after the last time, had made it a point to be home on time, and when he couldn't be, always texted her. The redhead spent most of her days at home, barring the odd doctor visit or visit to her parents or Rose, but on his odd day off, sometimes Scorpius would take Helena to visit his own mother, leaving Lily a couple hours of free time that she was grateful for.

It was one such afternoon, on the last day of January, and Lily was having tea with Rose after they'd gone for pedicures. "So what's new? I haven't seen my squishy all week, and I miss her. I told you you could bring her, y'know."

Lily smiled. "Nothing much is new. And Helena's having her Daddy Day with Scorpius." Rose looked smug. "What?"

"That's probably the cutest thing in the whole world," she replied.

"What?" Lily repeated, confused.

"Malfoy and the words 'Daddy Day' used in the same sentence," Rose said. Lily giggled a little, because if someone had told her that before she'd gotten knocked up, she'd have probably peed her pants laughing. "It's kind of amazing though."

"He is," Lily agreed dreamily. "He's great with her. And she loves him. He gets all the smiles nowadays. Which reminds me, you have to see the picture I got the other day." She pulled out her phone, intending to pull up a picture of baby Helena in the tub, smiling up in all her toothless glory at her father, from a couple days ago, but then it buzzed in her hand.

"Who's calling?" Rose demanded through a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie.

"Scorpius," Lily said, smiling, and answered her phone. "Hi, what's up?" She heard crying in the background. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Scorpius replied. "Are you going to be home soon?" Lily's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, sure. Seriously though, what's wrong? Why is she crying?"

"Nothing, Helena's just voicing her displeasure at having to look at Chris. And no rush, take as long as you like, darling, but if it's not any trouble, do you think you could bring home diapers?"

Lily felt instantly suspicious. "Sure," she said slowly, even as Rose all but glared expectantly with the 'what is going  _on_?' face. "Although we shouldn't need them until-"

"I know, the end of the week. Let's just say your daughter is great at pooping." Lily laughed, because she'd seen, once before, Scorpius go through four diapers before Helena was finished.

"Okay. I'll probably be back by three."

"Alright, see you then," Scorpius said, and Lily waited, wondering if he would tack on the three words she never got tired of hearing. "I love you," he said softly.

She blushed, smiling, and murmured back, "I love you. Bye."

Rose rolled blue eyes as Lily hung up. "You two are vomit inducing levels of adorable." Lily blushed some more, and shrugged, because she didn't care that it was probably true. "So what did your baby daddy want?"

"He needs me to get diapers." Rose chuckled. "Apparently there's been another poo-pocalypse." Half an hour later Rose dropped Lily outside Scorpius's condo building and the redhead went upstairs, feeling refreshed and ready to snuggle her baby, who she'd gone a good four hours without seeing. She unlocked the front door with her shiny silver key she'd gotten for Christmas, and felt a surge of hormonal panic, because Helena was making hungry noises from within, and her breasts were aching already.

"You know it's just stupid to put it off until you  _need_  to do it," Chris was saying from the living room as Lily slipped inside, kicking off her boots and hanging up her coat.

"And it's even more stupid to rock the boat," Scorpius replied. "No sense tipping over just because I've checked my lifejacket."

Chris sighed and Lily paused, eavesdropping. "Personally, I feel you, mate. But professionally, you need to cover all your bases."

Lily frowned.  _What the hell does that mean_? "Then do whatever," Scorpius said dismissively. "Draw up your shit and get the ball rolling then." Lily smirked, because Scorpius sounded irritated by whatever Chris was saying, and the redhead moved into the apartment properly, diapers in hand.

"You got it," Chris said, sounding pleased as Lily walked in, and smirked at her. "Well it's about time, Little Potter. Off gallivanting and leaving this adorable, starving baby in the hands of Scor? You've shocked me, Potter. I thought you were a better mum than that."

"Screw you, Chris," Lily said, throwing the pack of diapers at him. He laughed, catching them easily, and Lily moved to lift Helena from her bouncy seat, which was angled to face her godfather. "Well hello, pumpkin. Mummy missed you. Are you hungry?"

"She's doing that cluster-eating thing," Scorpius said, brushing a hand over her fuzzy head. "She just ate an hour ago."

"But it's not nearly as good from a plastic bottle, now is it?" Lily cooed to the baby, who scrunched up her face and let out a wail. "Oh relax, my darling, it's coming." She tossed a blanket over her shoulder and lifted her shirt beneath it, even as Scorpius shot Chris a glare that suggested he move his eyes somewhere else when he caught the dark haired man looking on with interest.

"Well, I can't say I blame the poor thing. I'm starving too, and Scorpius won't feed me either," Chris said teasingly as he got up.

"Go home then, Pashkov," Scorpius mumbled.

"Scorpius, don't be rude," Lily said, her blanket slipping a little as she got the baby latched. "He can stay if he wants."

Chris smirked, even as Scorpius shot him a deadly look when his eyes followed the curve of Lily's free breast through the blanket. "No worries, Little Potter, I'm used to Scor being a dick after all these years. I don't take it personal anymore. Besides, I've got plans anyway, and I might just end up having the same snack as the squish. See you." Lily waved as Chris went to the door, Scorpius moving with him to see his friend out, and didn't hear the dark haired man say, softly, "I'll have those papers ready for Monday. Swing by my office and pick them up, just to look them over."

"Yeah, yeah," Scorpius grumbled, closed the door on Chris, and headed back to Lily, who'd discarded the blanket and was flipping through channels on his ginormous flat screen television as she fed the baby.

"How is there like five hundred channels, and yet  _nothing_  worth watching on the telly?" she sighed, continuing to peruse the guide and Scorpius grinned a little, because he felt no need, so long as Lily and Helena stayed right where they were, to pursuit legal visitation rights, and he knew that to bring it up, after so long, would only infuriate and distance himself from Lily. And no matter how Scorpius spun it, he simply couldn't bring himself, now that he knew he was the luckiest man on the face of the planet and Lily loved him back, to ruin his own happiness. He was just too damn selfish.

Later that night, Scorpius glanced up at the calendar Lily kept on the fridge as he put away leftovers from dinner, and frowned. "Wait, why do you have two doctor's visits next week?" he said.

Lily glanced up at him through her lashes, blushing, and then looked away, down at the baby as she fed her. "I have Helena's six week check in with my doctor on Thursday," she said, trying to avoid saying anything else.

"So what's Friday?" he asked. Lily cleared her throat.

"That's my other appointment," she said vaguely and glanced up at him again, hoping Scorpius would let it go. He didn't.

"Appointment for what?"

"Um, that's the appointment for  _my_  six week check up." She blushed, looking away, and tried not to think about the fact her obstetrician would probably okay her to have sex again. "So that's why I have two doctor visits."

"I see," Scorpius said, and she glanced back at him. He looked thoughtful. "Did you want me to go with you?"

"If you want," she said, assuming he meant Helena's appointment. "I mean, I can carry the carseat, but it's better if I don't have to," she said with a smile. "And it's just the same stuff as last time with her. They weigh her, measure her, ask all the questions, the usual, so you don't-"

"No, I meant for you," Scorpius interrupted. Lily merely blinked. "I mean did you want me to drive you? Because if you're going to be in pain or anything, after, erm, whatever happens…" He trailed off, looking as awkward as Lily felt.

"Um, I suppose I wouldn't mind a drive," she said lightly, "but it's not a big deal. Rose was going to come watch the baby for an hour for me to pop in and out."

Scorpius looked confused for a beat, and Lily realized he probably had zero clue she was mostly completely healed below the waist. "Oh," he said at last.

The redhead smirked a tiny bit, feeling less embarrassed now. "And it's just a formality, the check up, really," she said. "They just make sure you're good, which nine times out of ten in the case. Most women, if they do have complications after, just contact their family doctor, or book an earlier appointment."

Scorpius looked shocked. "So wait, are you saying you're just…? I mean, I won't lie to you, Lily, I have  _zero_  clue what happened to you when Helena was delivered, because I was a little preoccupied at the life changing events happening, but I just assumed it was bad."

Lily shrugged, rocking a little as Helena slowly drifted off on a belly full of milk, her latch relaxing. "It was," she replied honestly. Scorpius winced a little. "I mean, I'm not a doctor, but it felt bad, and one of the nurses told me she was surprised I was sitting up and moving about the next morning. Apparently I got a third degree tear."

Scorpius felt himself go numb, because that sounded absolutely fucking awful, not just  _bad_. "That sounds really...bad," he mumbled through stiff lips. Lily grinned.

"It was." She arched a dark red brow at him, looking smug. "Let's just say, the next level is the worst, fourth degree, and that's when… Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you."

Scorpius nodded, because he doubted he could handle it if she did. "I'm literally picturing the worst," he said, feeling a tad ill.

Lily laughed at him, then moved over shifting the baby up onto a shoulder to burp her, and kissed the side of his mouth. "Yeah. But the human body is an amazing thing, because I'm mostly back to normal already."

Scorpius shook his head, because there was just no damn way. "Honestly, darling, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I'd like to hear it for myself, from a doctor."

Lily rolled her eyes, got Helena to burp, and then passed her and the spit up cloth, just in case, to Scorpius. "Then you can come with. If you want." He watched her blush attractively again, cheeks going the same rosy shade of pink as her mouth, and she looked down. "Just so you can hear a doctor say I'm not going to be permanently maimed."

He tilted her chin back up, then kissed her soundly. "I'm more worried you think you're healed when you're not. And that maybe you missed one of those ten percent complications, Lily." She blushed a little more, but smiled, and he couldn't help but glance down as she put the breast she'd been feeding Helena at away.

"Unlikely, but fine," she said. "But, for the record, I'd like to preemptively say I told you so."

"Duly noted," he drawled, and then took Helena off to bed. When he came back ten minutes later, Lily was eating, again, although he couldn't tell where she was putting it all, because even the glimpses he'd gotten through her layers and baggy clothes had revealed only luscious swaths of creamy flesh that had him all but salivating. And as far as he could tell, she gone back to being tall and willowy, minus her breasts, which were still large and lusciously full, and distinctly off limits because someone else had claimed ownership.

"Come sit," Lily said, changing the channel from a show about people buying bridesmaids' dresses, which he loathed, to the slightly cheesy crime solving drama show that Scorpius found bearable. She was pumping, so he sat further away than he would've prefered, and tried to ignore the urge to ogle her breasts. It was damn near impossible, though, because they looked fucking  _great_. "Watch telly, not me," Lily chided softly, smiling across at him.

"We've seen this episode before."

Lily pouted. "We have not!" she argued. "You haven't even been watching."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "The security guy did it."

The redhead shook her head. "There isn't even a security guard in this episode!" Scorpius shook his head back, and Lily turned back to the show, finishing her snack and pumping and, at long last, snuggling up to him. "Still no security guard," she said, shifting her head against his shoulder to look at him.

"Just wait."

Lily sighed, but then, in the last six minutes of the show, the team of investigators found out they'd been pegging the wrong guy because they were actually looking for his twin brother, and indeed, a security guy ended up being the perpetrator. "That is so ridiculous, there's no way you've seen this without me," she sighed, then turned her face into his neck. Scorpius told himself not to get turned on, even when she nuzzled against him, lips brushing his flesh ever so softly. "Not fair."

"Next time I'll just spoil the whole ending for you, then," he teased, and turned his head to kiss her temple.

"God, you're such a jerk," she murmured.

"Good thing I'm a loveable one then, isn't it?"

Lily grinned, pulled back, and then moved to kiss him, climbing atop his lap. And even though he told himself not to, Scorpius felt himself getting hard. "Damn good," Lily murmured between kisses, and then suckled his lower lip erotically.

"Fuck, darling," he rumbled, hands moving, with eager remembrance, down from where he'd had them tangled in her hair, over her collarbones, and gently now, around the swells of her breasts, woefully over her shirt, and then her ribcage, the soft hourglass of her sides, and down her hips then in. But before he could finish his lazy exploration of her shape, Lily pushed his hands down, breaking away.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm mostly healed, but I'm not  _that_  well healed," she murmured, looking strangely embarrassed.

"What does that mean?" Scorpius wondered if she thought him some animal, incapable of restraining himself from having her after she'd gotten things like tears in the third degree.  _I fucking hope not_. Because sex was definitely not on the radar. Except that, sure, he wanted, because whenever Lily was around, he always wanted, and it took concerted effort to restrain himself, certainly, but he was a gentleman enough to accept she would let him know if or when she was ready.

Lily sighed. "Look, I'm not the same shape I was before Helena. Or during Helena. I'm kind of still bouncing back."

Scorpius frowned, then smoothed his hands up her thighs gently. "I know," he murmured. "I don't get the point you're trying to make."

She stopped them as he made to move his hands in and up from her hips again. "I have a belly, and it's weird, and I don't really want you to touch it." The words tumbled out before she could stop them, and she cringed a little, because that left her feeling horribly vulnerable.

"Why not?" he murmured, looking adorably, honestly confused. "I love your belly. It grew our baby." Lily felt her heart stutter a little at that, and she couldn't help the smile, but still shook her head.

"It's weird for me," she said softly, and then Scorpius's hands moved around her back, pulling her in closer.

"Then I'll wait until it's not weird for you."

She felt tears brimming at that, and couldn't resist clutching Scorpius's strong frame, moulding herself against him, and trying to soak up some of the strength he seemed to have for everything. "Thanks," she breathed.

"You're welcome," he murmured, barely moving, and when Lily shifted to get a little more comfortable, she realized why. And even though she felt a wave of embarrassment, she couldn't help the wicked, craven, slightly repressed lately part of her that wanted to not just brush up a little more against it, but touch Scorpius's hard on, and tease him until he lost control. Even if they couldn't have sex. Yet.

She shifted again, a little more purposefully now, and Scorpius sucked in a deep breath beneath her, and Lily couldn't help but smile into his neck. "Lily," he said, voice rough and the tiniest bit pleading.

"Mmm?" she purred, and kissed his neck teasingly.

"You might not be healed entirely," he rumbled, "but there are parts of me that don't much care."

Lily grinned, shifting a little yet again, and rubbed her sensitive breasts over his chest, humming at the delightful rasp of her cotton tank top over the tender flesh. "Which parts?" she murmured.

She pulled back to look into his eyes, and saw they were dark and predatory, and her nipples went hard, aching pleasurably. "The parts you're sitting on," he replied, and Lily couldn't help but smile, then slowly let her palms smooth down his shoulders and chest and stomach.

"Oh that," she said, and tossed her hair, and Scorpius sucked in a breath sharply as she caressed him through his jeans. "My bad."

Scorpius grunted, because it was perfect agony, having Lily and not getting to have any fun with her, hard and hornier than he'd been since their daughter's arrival, certainly. And she was just sitting there grinning, stroking him through his pants and looking good enough to eat, entirely off limits. "Fuck, Lily," he finally grunted, because if she wasn't going to take him all the way, he was going to have to take care of it himself. "Please stop teasing me, darling."

The redhead licked her lips, hazel eyes flicking up coyly, and undid his belt without looking away. "Do you want me to stop?" she purred, pausing as she grasped his jeans as if to undo them.

"God no," he said breathlessly, and smoothed his hands up her thighs again, trying for control that felt nonexistent. Now, Scorpius felt like an animal, and one who was entirely capable of forgetting she wasn't healed, and he couldn't have his way with her.

"Oh good," she said, grinning, and leaned in, kissing him teasingly, then bit his lower lip hard enough to hurt, tugging just enough to make him like it. "I was hoping you'd say that," she rumbled, then undid his pants in short order, easily pushing his underwear down and gripping his hot hard erection boldly and possessively.

Scorpius couldn't hold back the moan, because her soft, smooth palm felt  _amazing_  on his cock, and as she jerked him off slowly, not so subtly hinting she was in control with her firm grip, the blond had to bite his lip against the instant urge to come. "Lily," he grunted, loving the way her thumb swiped the head of his prick as she jerked him a tiny bit faster.

He watched her chest lift with her ragged breath, pearly whites sinking into her lower lip as her pupils dilated. "Do you like that?" she asked huskily, her perfect hand pushing him ever closer.

"I'd love it if you took your shirt off," Scorpius replied without thought, and Lily smiled wickedly, then released him, wrenching another moan from him, this time at the loss.

"Oh really," she said softly, and then, in one graceful movement, lifted her too-big long sleeved shirt up and off, revealing a translucent white tank top and nothing else beneath.

"Does the rest come off too?" Scorpius asked, hating how eager he sounded, even to his own ears, but Lily merely smirked.

"No," she said lightly, and reached up to push her hair behind one shoulder, fingers trailing down the neckline of her tank, easing it down as the well loved cotton stretched easily, almost revealing her breast entirely. "Because it doesn't have to." She moved her hand to grip his erection once more, leaving herself almost exposed, giving Scorpius just the slightest peek of her dusky rose areola.

He groaned as she smoothed her silken palm over him once more, caressing gently, moving with possessive purpose, driving him utterly mad with wanting. "Lily," he panted, unable to help thrusting up into her hand after several long, torturous minutes of her fondling. "Fuck,  _please_ , darling."

The redhead slid off his lap, to his dismay, withdrawing her hand from him again, and Scorpius cursed himself, because he could've come already, and had been trying not to embarrass himself, really. But then Lily parted his legs, dropped to her knees between them, and leaned over his lap. "Since you asked so nicely," she said teasingly, and from his vantage point, Scorpius could see right down her see-through tank top, and admired her hard nipples and luscious cleavage. He hissed as she gripped him again, eyes flicking back to her hazel gaze, and she smirked. He groaned as she leaned in closer, teasing his prick over the soft cotton and even softer skin between her breasts, and licked her lips erotically. Scorpius told himself not to hope she was going for the blowjob, because he'd never last, and yet his prick hoped for it regardless. "And since you're so lucky I fell for you," she added softly, and he smoothed his hands through her hair, feeling unbearably turned on, because in the next breath, she dipped her head and took him into her mouth, and he was treated to the hottest, and undoubtedly, by far, the sexiest blowjob of his life.

And even though it was a distinctly embarrassing amount of time before he grunted, "Fuck, darling, I'm-!" and lost himself to nirvana, Scorpius couldn't help but feel like the luckiest bastard who'd ever had the fortune of stumbling across Lily Potter and her absolutely phenomenal mouth. "That was amazing," he finally panted, groaning softly as he readjusted his clothing. Lily, who was sitting beside him on the couch, was flipping through channels on the telly, but smiled across at him, then leaned into his shoulder again.

"Thanks. And that means you owe me one."

Scorpius grinned. "Or two," he conceded, because whether it had simply been because it had been  _awhile_  for him, or because it was Lily and he was in love with her, that had been worth more than just one for him.

"Deal," Lily said, then leaned up and kissed the side of his mouth. "And now we get to watch that awful show you hate about house makeovers for really deserving people." Scorpius fought the urge to groan, in displeasure this time, because Lily  _always_  cried at the end, and he always felt extra jaded, because he was never affected.

"Lucky me," he said dryly, and the redhead laughed.

She went, with the tall blond accompanying her, on the next Friday, to her six week postnatal check up, feeling distinctly anxious, because she'd never left their baby alone, without at least Scorpius there. And although she knew Rose could handle an hour watching a sleeping Helena, Lily was having trouble handling it. She pulled out her phone, to check for messages from Rose, just in case, even though it had literally been less than ten minutes since they'd left. "Lily," Scorpius said softly, putting a hand on her thigh. "Relax. She's going to be fine."

"I know," she said defensively, feeling edgy and grouchy that Scorpius could read her so easily, but glad at the same time. He sighed, sounding oddly relieved.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that, because I'm really tempted to just drop you off and drive like hell back there to make sure Rose is on the ball."

Lily smiled a little at that. "You can if you want," she said fairly.

"No, I'll be alright, and I don't want you to have to do this alone," he said, and Lily couldn't resist twining her fingers into his. "Besides, it'll be good for Helena," Scorpius added, sounding like he didn't believe it for a second.

Lily giggled. "She won't even notice we're gone, most likely," she said, and felt herself calming a little, almost believing the worst wasn't doomed to happen, and she wasn't a horrible person for not simply taking the baby with them.

"Exactly," Scorpius replied in a forced light tone, and squeezed her hand, and Lily smiled, because it felt nice, knowing she wasn't alone in her paranoia.

She released his hand as Scorpius parked some five minutes later, but smiled as he reclaimed it while they walked into the clinic where Lily's obstetrician and gynecologist practiced. "You don't have to come into the exam room with me," she said quietly as they sat down in the reception area after she'd announced herself to the young woman behind the desk. The redhead wasn't entirely sure she wanted Scorpius knowing the full extent of what she'd gone through during delivery, because a large part of her was hoping and wishing he'd still want to get her vertical and have the kind of hot, passionate sex she'd become accustomed to before their bean's arrival.

"I want to," he said easily, and Lily blushed ever so slightly.

"Remember that if you happen to see the horror," she teased, and squeezed his hand. "And don't forget the I told you so, because I'm willing to bet the doctor agrees I'm mostly entirely healed."

"Duly noted, darling."

Twenty minutes later, they were back in Scorpius's very comfortable BMW and Lily was feeling a little sore, but mostly smug. "I can't resist," she said at last. "I told you so."

The blond laughed, then leaned over to kiss her as he pulled to a stop at a red light. "You did," he admitted. "But you also left some other important information out."

XXX


	18. Glorious

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Eighteen - Glorious

" _But you also left some other important information out."_

Lily gulped, cheeks going hot, because she'd hoped to god and every other otherworldly deity her OB/Gyn wouldn't go there. But, of course, the fifty-million-something woman with her grey hair and spectacles, had said, with a pointed look at Scorpius, "And you can probably resume normal sexual intercourse, though I would caution to look into birth control before doing so. It's not ideal to be having another child just yet."

"Um," Lily said, glancing nervously at Scorpius, feeling her face burn even hotter, "yeah. Well, that's also kind of the other reason to get the six week check up," she mumbled, looking out the window, because the grey, dismal streets were better to look at than Scorpius's thoroughly amused dark grey eyes. "To get the doctor okay to have..." She couldn't say it. "To do it again."

Scorpius made the left hand turn easily, and then smirked across at his redheaded baby mama, who looked like she was about to boil herself in mortification. She was breathtaking, even with her crazy mane of red hair curling and waving messily in a halo around her almost too flushed face. "Do what?" he teased, affecting a politely questioning tone.

Lily frowned at him briefly. "You know what," she grumbled.

"You mean sex? Yes, I'm thoroughly acquainted with that subject." Lily snorted. "But more specifically, sex with you? I'm  _extremely_  intimately acquainted with that subject, darling."

He smiled, because she blushed even more. "You're making this awkward," Lily mumbled.

"Not even," he murmured, and looked over at her, loving her more than he'd even thought possible to love another. "I'm merely stating the facts."

"Yeah, well that's kind of awkward," Lily said, looking back at him. "And stop smirking like that. It's not just going to happen," she snapped. "I'm not pregnant."

Scorpius shrugged, because he was willing to bet an ungodly sum of money that Lily was more hormonal now than when she'd ever been pregnant, and he was also willing to bet there was a fair amount of lust on her side, which probably accounted for the embarrassment. "Of course," he said, even though he could tell, by the sneaky glance she sent him, the one he felt moving over him as he drove, assessing and undressing, she was probably just hormonal enough to give in.

"Good," she said briskly. "Now hurry up and get home. I miss Helena."

Scorpius merely smiled, because he missed their bean too, and he had no intentions whatsoever of fucking up the first time he made love to Lily since Helena's birth. It would be perfect, and he would make it special and amazing for her. He wasn't looking for a hot quickie , or even a molten night. He wanted  _days_ to lavish her with pleasure until she couldn't fucking stand it. Of course, he'd be lucky to have the second, and they'd probably end up with the first, but Scorpius would make sure her pleasure came before, and maybe again during if he could manage it, his own, no matter which setting.

His first opportunity came one evening that he happened to be home for dinner, which was becoming a lot less of late, when Lily, feeling more than a little peer pressured, surrendered her daughter to her mother's overnight care, even though it would only be about ten hours of parting total. The redhead had at last, when Helena was seven weeks, relented to having her mother, who'd been asking for a month at least, take Helena one evening until first thing the next morning. All under the pretence, of course, that Lily could 'have a night for herself', which the redhead didn't buy for a second, because she was bound to worry. And Lily, who knew her baby better than everyone, did indeed spend her entire evening for herself pacing Scorpius's condo and muttering, worrying if her daughter's needs were being properly met to her standard, and exclaiming that she should, because surely her mother needed extra special instructions on how to care for  _her_ baby, call, or text, or drop by, or do anything at all.

In the end, she went to bed after a half of a glass of wine, and didn't interrupt her mother's visit with her precious little Helena, but Lily still woke throughout the night, as if to feed the baby. Scorpius had taken her to his bed, just in case  _she_  wanted more than sleep, but instead, Lily clung to him, weeping silently, missing their daughter unbearably until she fell asleep properly around three in the morning.

His second chance came the next morning, and it was the one he took. Despite Lily's assurances the was no way she could sleep without Helena, she'd at last drifted off and slept soundly, and for more than four consecutive hours, for the first time in over a month and a half. As a result, she woke up late, in a shaft of warm sunshine that poured in through the windows, feeling content and a tad dreamy. As she stretched, she felt Scorpius's hand slide around her, pulling her closer to his warmth next to her, and she couldn't help but smile a little, because the handsome blond, with his deliciously perfect body, looked good and felt even better. "Good morning," she said sleepily, with a lazy smile, eyes still half lidded.

"Good morning," he rumbled back, and then he kissed her, because she was so warm and inviting, tempting and soft, and bloody sexy to boot, he couldn't resist. "I wouldn't mind making it a great morning," he replied, hand moving along her side, tracing her curves, then moving teasingly under the swell of her achingly full breasts.

The redhead frowned, because although she kind of  _really_  wanted that, she knew her body was still waiting for Helena. "That's probably not happening," she murmured, and bit her lip to stay her arousal as his hand smoothed up and in between her breasts, palm flattening possessively over the sensitive flesh, warm and oddly reassuring.

"Why not?" Scorpius murmured back, even as he leaned in and kissed up her neck teasingly.

Lily sighed a mixture of frustration Scorpius was so dimwitted at times and resignation that there'd be nothing else for it but to tell him. "Because," she said clearly and firmly, mouth set, and then sat up properly, instantly missing the warmth of his palm against her chest. "Because I only had my baby seven weeks ago, and I can almost promise you that these," she gestured to her breasts in her little tee, "if you even look at them naked, are probably going to start leaking. Lots."

To her surprise, Scorpius smiled a little bit. "I know precisely how long it's been since you delivered Helena, darling." She huffed out a small noise of disdain, because he had no clue what those seven weeks had been like for her, but didn't comment. He sat up slowly beside her, leaned in a little, cupped a hand on her face, fingertips just brushing the tangle of her hair, and kissed the woman he loved more than he loved life itself, he was certain. He could wait for her. "And I love you," he added in velvet tones against her ear, "and I can wait as long as you want." She sucked in an unsteady breath and then let it out in a tiny whimpering moan as his fingers dragged down her neck and across the smooth expanse of a collarbone, and then down over her aching nipple.

"Shit," she breathed, because she could feel her breasts start leaking, and pulled away from the blond's tempting lure, because the thought of being half drenched in breast milk was not a turn on, despite how badly she wanted to have Scorpius roll her over and make love to her until she couldn't move. "Sorry," she said, sliding from bed, and moved to get her breasts pumped, because they were painfully full, and she needed relief.

An hour later, she'd pumped, showered, dressed, and was ready to go get her baby, but when she at last looked back in at Scorpius, he was passed out in bed again, one arm thrown over his eyes, almost half naked and looking like some kind of fallen god in his grey tee that was riding up and blue plaid pyjama pants. She couldn't help but smile, and moved to wake him up, because while she  _could_  drive, she wasn't a very good driver and didn't much want to, and especially not in Scorpius's very nice and  _very_  expensive car.

"Scorpius," she sighed, shaking his shoulder as she sat down beside him in his large, rumpled bed. "Time to get up," she said, and leaned down to kiss him. In the next breath, Scorpius's arm moved from over his eyes, and he pulled her closer, kissing her hungrily, and Lily wondered if he was dreaming. "Scorpius," she murmured between fervent kisses, "time to get up."

"Oh, I'm up, darling," he replied, and she pulled back to see him smirking sleepily up at her. "You smell delicious. Why are you wearing clothes?"

Hazel eyes rolled. "Stop. We have to go get our daughter. She probably misses us."

"Unlikely," Scorpius said reasonably. "She misses  _you_ , because you're the center of her universe, but she probably forgot me the second you kissed her goodbye." Lily frowned, and then gasped, because Scorpius's hand slid up under her shirt, across her still not quite flat belly, pausing right on the part she disliked the most, in the middle, where her skin was just kind of  _hanging_  there still.

"If she misses either of us, it's you," she said, moving to push his hand away. Scorpius slid it up instead, over her less full, but still luscious breast, frowning when he encountered her nursing bra.

"You're an awful liar, Lily," Scorpius said, sounding thoroughly amused. She groaned a little when he hooked a finger inside the cup of her brassiere and tugged suggestively. "And you still haven't answered the question."

"What question?" she murmured, melting a little as Scorpius leaned up to press hot, open mouthed kisses along the modest neckline of her shirt.

"Why are you wearing clothes?" he rumbled again, and buried his face in her cleavage, turning his head slightly to nip at one decadent curve of flesh, then the other way to do the same to the other.

"Because it's already almost nine thirty, and we have to go get Helena."

"Did your mother call?" he asked, kissing up the valley between her boobs, and then suckled a mouthful of creamy flesh hungrily, wishing it was her nipple.

"No," Lily murmured, only half paying attention as all her nerve endings sparked into life, making her unbearably aware of how good Scorpius's mouth felt on her. "But I told her I'd pick up the baby ages ago."

"Did you pack extra milk?" Scorpius said roughly, tugging her shirt down and exposing the black lace over the nude fabric of her bra.

"Of course," Lily said, "but I still-"

"Wait until she calls then," Scorpius rumbled, at last pulling her down to lay beside him once more. "She's probably in heaven. And Helena's undoubtedly fine." He sounded so utterly certain that Lily felt her anxiety to have her baby with her, right that very second if possible, recede a little. And as he kissed her, tongue teasing the seam of her lips the exact same way he had on her thirtieth birthday, Lily felt her reservations crumbling completely. "I promise," he said softly but with passion as he kissed down her neck once more, "even if she calls in the next minute, we'll get there as fast as possible."

For a second the redhead wondered if that was meant as a double entendre, but then the blond pulled back and looked at her, dark grey eyes steady and reassuring, as they'd been for so long now, and Lily found that she trusted him entirely. That everything would be okay against all her uncertainty. "Okay," she breathed, and her hands moved to caress his face and then spear back through his platinum hair as she moved to kiss him lingeringly.

"I'm really hoping that means okay, keep going," he murmured, and she smiled.

"You bet," Lily said, and kissed him again as he rolled her over onto her back. "And I love you, so I'm sorry if it's not the same, or as good, or-" He cut her off with a kiss, tongue pushing into her mouth, claiming ownership, and melting her against him.

"Stop talking," he rumbled when he broke away at last, leaving her breathless with arousal and panting with desire. He tugged her shirt up and off.

"Go fuck yourself," she replied, and he laughed.

"I have better options than myself," he shot back, and kissed down between her breasts again, making her breathing malfunction dangerously. "At least, it appears that way," he teased, then moved to undo her bra.

"I don't think-" she breathed, moving to cover herself as he unhooked the front closure with embarrassing ease and her favourite nursing bra fell off, but Scorpius moved her hands away gently, and looked at her naked breasts, grunting a little.

"Don't cover up," he said huskily. "I don't care what you think, you have the best breasts I've ever seen," he said, and Lily almost blushed. "And they've only gotten better since the baby," he added roughly, and she groaned as his hands moved to touch them reverently. "Fuck, so good," he added in a half whisper, as if to himself, and Lily let her inhibitions fly. If Scorpius wanted to touch her, she was more than fine with that.

He palmed her breasts gently, and Lily breathed heavy and deep through her nose, trying to slow the rapid surge of arousal as his touch grew a little more firm and possessive. "Don't stop," she groaned as his hands dragged down over her front to grasp her hips.

"Fuck, I couldn't stop if I tried, darling," he rumbled, and spread her legs wider, then moved to hook all his fingers into her jeans across her hips. Lily wriggled and arched into him, and he peeled the snug denim down her creamy, smooth legs, grunting when he saw her sexy little lace and cotton knickers with pink and turquoise polka dots. "You're so sexy," he groaned, shifting back back to look down at her, in only her adorable panties and undone bra, all womanly curves and enticing softness, lying in his bed. He moved over her again, loving the way her legs moved around him, her arms pulling him closer, and he kissed her hungrily. "Shit, I don't want to wait," he groaned, because while he wanted nothing more than to lavish Lily with pleasure, he was going to implode if he couldn't be inside her as soon as physically possible.

"Don't wait," Lily moaned, her nimble hands moving to divest him of clothing. "Please don't wait," she groaned, completely lost in a haze of pleasure, because Scorpius was so much more than she recalled, and her post-baby body felt impossibly more turned on by him than ever, and she was dying to have him within her, completing her, pushing her to the heights of ecstasy.

"Fuck," he grunted, kissing her, making her hands fumble and falter on his pyjama pants. "I love you," he said in a husky, wit-scattering voice, after pulling back.

"I love you too," she said, eyes devouring him as he shifted onto his knees, looking at her again. "But you've got clothes on still, and I'd probably love you more if you took them off." Scorpius whipped off his t-shirt and pushed his pyjamas and boxer briefs down in one fell swoop, even as Lily half cursed herself for blurting out what had been a thought, not something she'd meant to say aloud.

"Are you going to get naked?" he rumbled, even as she regarded him with a ravenous expression, then traced a fingertip just inside the waistband of her cute little panties. "Or am I taking these off with my teeth?"

She shivered, because that was a delightful suggestion, but she was impatient, and quickly slithered free of her panties, blushing a little despite her bubbling desire. "Do you have a condom?" she shot back, and sat up, gripping his impressive erection firmly, smirking as she pumped him slow and teasing and his breathing caught.

"You fucking bet," he replied unevenly, then pushed her hand away. "Lily," he groaned, "I won't get to use it if you keep doing that, darling."

"You won't get to use it if you don't hurry up," she teased, and Scorpius kissed her, laying her back again, and the next thing Lily knew, something hard was nudging between her legs, parting her. Anxiety rendered her stiff and unyielding for a beat, fear that it would hurt, or something would be re-torn even, making her arousal dampen, her ardour cooling a smidge. "Relax, darling," Scorpius rumbled, spreading her thighs wider with his own, kissing her neck, distracting her thoroughly once more. And as he simply rocked against her entrance, not quite penetrating her, Lily felt her inhibitions melting under his consummate skill of precisely what she liked best.

She groaned, arching into him as he tugged teasingly at a nipple, mouth nipping her pulse point hungrily, and her fingernails bit into his shoulders as he muffled a curse in her flesh. "Scorpius," she panted, palms smoothing over his familiar planes and contours, across his shoulders and back in, down his chest and around to the small of his back. Her pulse thudded, thick with desire, and she felt so warm and adored, her heart threatened to burst. "Please," she gasped, even as Scorpius kissed back up her neck. "Please," she groaned again, clutching him, trying to draw him inside her, needing him to complete her, and make love to her.

"Lily," he moaned, even as she felt him, at last, ease into her slick warmth, and his breath against her ear calmed her, even as they both groaned in tandem. "I'm not going to last, darling," he breathed.

Lily moaned, still adjusting to the feeling of him within her, but as Scorpius remained buried in her, she relaxed against him once more, thighs moving comfortably around his hips. "Then make love to me," she said firmly, looking up into his dark grey eyes, certain she had never felt more completely happy.

"With pleasure, my love," Scorpius replied thickly, and his mouth claimed hers once more, kissing her as he rocked out of her slowly and then thrust back in agonizingly slow. And it may have been hours, or days, Lily wasn't sure, as pleasure dulled her senses and narrowed her universe to the man above her, who made exquisite love to her as his mouth kissed her and dropped myriad words of endearment and love and admiration of her.

And just as the redhead couldn't take it a second longer, the perfect, thorough, and far too slow pace he'd set, something within her blond haired lover seemed to snap. His kisses became more owning, his hands firmer and more possessive, and as he picked up the pace, fucking her with primal intensity and absolute abandon, Lily lost herself in the best orgasm she'd ever experienced.

On and on it seemed to stretch, the delirious and delectable waves of euphoric pleasure that crashed over her, until she finally opened her eyes, panting and clutching Scorpius as his weight pressed her deeper into the mattress, settled comfortably atop her. And before she could stop herself, Lily's mouth was moving and her vocal chords betrayed her. "That was definitely the fucking best ever."

Scorpius groaned, withdrew, and rolled off of her, pulling her in to snuggle even as she rolled into him. "Definitely," he agreed, grinning, and looking impossibly more sexy and sleepy. His mouth brushed her hairline tenderly. "I bet it's because you finally know how much I'm in love with you."

Lily smiled into his chest. "Definitely," she echoed. "I mean, it's definitely not because you know I love you, too. I bet that would've included my raincheck."

The blond chuckled huskily, and Lily sat up, face soft, radiating that goddess like beauty that made him feel weak in the knees and like he was invincible at the same time, because it was directed at  _him_. "I believe I owe you more than one, darling," he replied.

"Definitely. And you're going to keep on owing me. We're beyond late to pick up Helena, and there's only so much extra milk."

Scorpius almost sighed at the thought of getting out of bed when Lily was naked with him in it, but smiled, because the thought of seeing his daughter again was enticing, even more so now that he'd sated the urge to sample Lily's delectable body once more. "Very well. Are you at least coming for a shower with me?"

Lily sucked in a breath then looked at him from under her lashes, biting her lower lip. "I suppose I'll have to. You've gone and turned me filthy, now."

The blond grinned. "You liked it," he teased, even as he followed her out of bed and toward his shower.

"No," Lily said, and smiled that tempting, sexy little grin that had done him in all those months ago on her birthday. "I fucking  _loved_  it."

It was at dinner that night that Scorpius dropped the bomb. "I have to go away, on business, for a few days."

Lily was glad she'd cleared her plate, because she might've done something embarrassing, like spat out her food in shock. As it was, her mouth dropped open rather gormlessly, before she snapped it shut again. "Alright," she said, glancing across to the baby, asleep in her bouncy chair after her dinner, looking angelic. After picking her bean up from her mother, who'd been beyond pleased Lily had let her keep her most of the morning, and the redhead had listened to her mother go on about all the amazing qualities Lily was already acquainted with concerning her baby, she'd been loathe to put the infant down. Even to eat.

"I'll be catching the redeye back to London on Sunday morning, so I'll be home when you wake up, hopefully." Lily nodded, and just kept nodding as Scorpius spoke, because she had no clue what to say. It was a painful reminder that Scorpius had a life and career that didn't include her or their bean. "And I'll call you as soon as possible after we land. And every night when I'm away," he continued, and Lily forced herself to stop nodding.

"It doesn't matter," she said lightly. "Helena and I will be peachy. Just try not to die of boredom, okay?" she said teasingly, trying to cover up the fact she would be at wits end without Scorpius, and his sound logic and reason, for four whole days. He'd somehow, in the almost couple months she'd been there with him, become her boulder, her sounding board, and most of all, the voice of her confidence when she doubted any aspect of motherhood, and how to handle it.

"Will you miss me?" Scorpius asked after a long beat of silence.

"Of course," Lily said, trying to swallow past the thickness in her throat of her contained tears. "I'm probably going to be too paranoid to shower without another human being present to make sure Helena's okay," she said, trying again to hide her absolute misery that Scorpius would be gone. For  _four whole days_ , no less. "But it'll be fine."

Scorpius seemed to sense it would not be fine. "I can stay if you need-"

"No," she said firmly. She wouldn't be the one who stood in the way of his career, because he'd happened to be the sperm donor for her baby and she'd, foolishly, fallen for him, and somehow made him fall for her in return. No, he couldn't give up his life for her, or Helena. "It will be okay, really. You need to go. You call the shots."

He grinned, because he'd once, jokingly, claimed he was responsible for his candidate doing so well, because he called all the shots, and made sure the important meetings and deals went down. "This is true," he replied, and reached for her hand. "I promise, it will be okay." And just like before, Lily believed him entirely, because he sounded so utterly assured and confident it was impossible not to put her trust in him.

"Of course," she said, and smiled, turning her hand to grasp his. "And I'm going to miss you lots, but it will be great when you come home."

The blond felt his arousal stirring and gulped a little. "I still have one more night," he rumbled. Lily bit her lip, looked down, then glanced back up at him from under her lashes.

"Good," she said, smiling coyly, and withdrew her hand from his. "Hurry up and finish eating, because you have about an hour until your daughter is going to want to eat again."

The blond sucked in a deep breath, and shoved his plate aside. "Forget that," he said decisively, and got up. "Let's go." Lily almost laughed, but then he picked her up and moved toward the bedroom, kissing her with intoxicating skill, and she melted into him, and gave herself over to the blinding, all consuming pleasure Scorpius could still wring from her.

XXX


	19. Bad Liar

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Nineteen - Bad Liar

Lily stared at the door for a long moment after she closed it, the paper still held in her hand, feeling confused.  _What the hell am I being served for_!? She unsealed the document and felt nausea twisting in her belly, and something like ice cold dread weighing her heart down as the words slowly began to make sense. She'd been served a summons to appear in Family Court, as the defendant in a custody hearing, by none other than the man she'd kissed goodbye as he went off on a four day business trip not six hours previous.

_No, there's no way. Scorpius wouldn't do that. He loves you_! She felt pain, something physical and tangible and agonizingly real, lance through her chest, because there was definitely a piece of paper, looking quite formal and legally binding, that suggested he was a fucking liar. And if he  _was_  a liar, she was quite possibly the most foolish woman on the face of the planet, because she had  _believed_  him. Every last word out of his mouth.

But no matter how she spun it, even to herself, Lily couldn't come up with a reason as to why Scorpius, the man she'd fallen for entirely, the father of her bean, would file custody papers against her if he actually loved her. If he actually wanted them to be a family. If he wasn't a bastard, motherfucker, and absolute piece of shit liar. But she had no answers, and no matter how badly she wanted to think the best of Scorpius, that this had to be some mistake, or fuck up certainly, Lily couldn't.

Because, when she finally looked up from the papers and at her sleeping daughter, chewy giraffe clutched in hand as she dozed in her bouncy seat, Lily knew there'd be no way in in hell, so long as she could draw breath, that she'd go down without a fight. Helena was  _hers_. But Lily knew Scorpius would still be on a plane, probably over the Atlantic somewhere, and she'd have to wait until very late to call him to demand an explanation.

So for several long hours, going about her normal routine, Lily paced, and brooded, and tried to convince herself she was being crazy, because there was no way,  _no way_ , Scorpius was either that good a liar, or that she was so blind and stupid. And the redhead told herself it didn't matter that his signature was at the bottom of the document that stated Scorpius was requesting shared custody between them, with a minimum of every weekend visitation rights. And of course, in return, she would receive a support check every month, if she should win primary custody. Because there simply  _had_  to be some kind of mistake.

And when she at last picked up her cell to call Scorpius, she found a text from her cousin Rose. The redhead debated reading it, but was too anxious, and called Scorpius instead, half praying he had some kind of perfectly logical explanation for everything. And, as her mouth dropped open in shock, it went straight to voicemail. She hung up, then called back instantly with the same outcome, and barely resisted throwing her own phone. "Okay," she said, letting out a deep breath, trying to stay calm, even as fear and anger warred within her. "He's probably just not in cell range yet."

After all, she told herself, he'd probably  _just_  gotten off the plane that had been due to land ten minutes ago. She'd try again in fifteen minutes. But fifteen minutes later, Lily was met with the same result. She forced herself not to get mad, telling herself it could be any number of legitimate reasons Scorpius's phone was probably off. He could have had his landing delayed. Or simply forgotten to switch it back on. Or, most likely, had launched straight into working and hadn't thought he'd need it on.

She paced and brooded, then fed Helena and got her snuggled up for a nap and then called again. Something akin to relief flooded her when the call went through, and she heard ringing from the other end. The relief turned into heavy dread when the phone kept on ringing. And ringing. And ringing still, with no answer. Tears of fury sprang to her eyes, heavily bolstered by hormones, and after the tenth ring, she hung up, feeling more confused than ever.

Lily's hazel gaze landed, once again, on the stupid papers that she'd been served with, and even as her lower lip wobbled, threatening a torrent of tears, she felt her redheaded temper blaze. So he wanted to serve her and then not answer his phone, did he?  _Well that's just peachy_. She went and took a hot shower, trying to calm down, with limited success, and tried Scorpius one last time. And still, his phone rang and rang, the redhead finally losing count somewhere in the teens, and hung up, feeling dejected and furious. She climbed into bed, trying to be calm and not do something rash, but she couldn't help but think if Scorpius didn't call the next morning, and she couldn't get ahold of him, she might just take a trip to crazy town.

The next morning dawned sunny and freezing looking outside the windows, and Lily sighed, because although she checked her phone eagerly, there was no voicemail or text message, or even a damn missed call from Scorpius. Her heart threatened to break all over, but then she heard Helena stirring and got up from the little futon.  _If that's how he wants to play it, fine_. She would take it in stride. Because she didn't bloody well need some unreliable man she couldn't count on, and shame on her for almost believing she could.

Lily made a few phone calls, after having her cousin Lucy, who was a lawyer, refer her to some good Family Law counsel, and booked an appointment to talk to someone about what she should do now that she'd been served. Then, after Helena was settled down for her mid morning nap, she focused on packing to go back to her own flat.

Her foolish heart, the stupid organ that kept on hoping Scorpius could explain it all away, felt heavy in her chest, threatening to sink to her toes as the afternoon brought more of the same. She went through the daily routine with Helena, focusing on giving her as much love and positivity as possible, forgetting Scorpius and her anger in sheer admiration of her baby daughter, who was growing at an almost alarming rate.

She was a plump cheeked, even tempered little girl for the most part, quick to smile as she gazed up bright eyed, and yet even quicker to shout her displeasure. Her blue eyes were still curiously light and Lily couldn't ever, when holding her, resist smoothing the peachy fuzz atop her head that had only marginally thickened in the last month and a half. But when Helena had her afternoon nap, the redhead could do nothing but think, and stew, and resist the urge to call Scorpius again. She was more than tempted to just up and leave, but then shook her head. She had to give him a chance. Lily reckoned she owed him that much after so long and so much. So, with a heavy heart, and a feeling of it being a last ditch effort, Lily picked up her cell and called her baby daddy again.

Scorpius for his part, was just getting out of bed when he heard his phone ring. He blinked, even as a hangover assaulted him, and cursed whoever had decided the most important political deals were best made in strip clubs at one in the morning, when everyone was too drunk to remember why they were opposed to one another. And, of course, it was only a matter of time before any and all the deals would be reneged upon.

His phone rang again, and Scorpius covered his face with a hand, then scrubbed it roughly, pushed his hand through his hair and looked down at his cell as he stretched and it rang a third time. He felt his heart skip a beat, nausea roiling up in his belly, because he hoped to God Lily wasn't calling to tell him something had happened to Helena, or even worse, the both of them. He snatched up the phone, breathing, "Lily," roughly, barely holding it together. There was a beat of silence.

"Scorpius," she said at last, sounding distinctly let down.

"Is everything okay?" he asked tensely.

She made an amused noise of skepticism. "The baby's fine," she said, and Scorpius felt like she was trying hard to remain polite, and could picture her, furiously gripping the phone, chest heaving at the containment of her frustration. She'd be lovely. But what on Earth could have made Lily so furious? She'd called him the night before, twice during dinner, and then again when he'd had it checked at the strip club. And even though he'd wanted to, there was absolutely no way he  _could_  have answered.

"And you?" he finally asked.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Lily asked, ignoring his question entirely. The blond blinked, trying to force his uncaffeinated, liquor dulled, and thoroughly jet-lagged-exhausted brain to comprehend.

"Do what?" he said, because he was drawing an absolute blank.

He heard the sharp intake of her breath. "Did you really arrange to have me served with custody papers while you were out of the country?"

His first reaction was to laugh, but he tamped down on it hard, because if the almost snarl she'd said the words in wasn't hinting at anger, he was a muffin. Which meant there might actually be papers that she'd been served with, that would make her more than angry. Which really meant- "Oh shit," he breathed, because there was only one fucking reason Lily would ever be served with the stupid papers Chris had badgered him into signing. And he was too many thousands of miles away to murder one of his best mates if his hunch was right.

"Oh shit is right!" she snapped, her fury all but oozing from his cell phone. "So you did, then! You're a fucking piece of work, Malfoy, you know that? How fucking  _dare_ you, you arrogant prick!?"

"Lily, I can explain," he said, gripping his phone tighter, but Lily, who'd been drawing breath, either didn't hear him, or didn't care. Or was too mad to stop shouting at him.

"Bullshit! It's absolute bullshit, all of it, and if you think you can just do whatever you like, you're about to find out, motherfucker, that you just met your match!"

"Lily, please," he said, feeling something like dread unfurling in his belly. "Let me explain. I love you, I wouldn't try to-"

She interrupted him with a cold laugh. "I'll just bet you do, Malfoy. That's definitely the icing on the fucking cake. I'm not an idiot, Scorpius, you signed the fucking papers," she said, and although she was no longer shouting, the frigid harshness of her voice, so unlike the Lily he'd come to know and love entirely, made him feel terrified. "The only person you love in this conversation is obviously yourself. And for the record, you can have my baby when Hell freezes over. See you in court, Malfoy."

"Lily," he breathed, but then she'd hung up on him, leaving him sitting on the bed in his hotel room, thousand of miles from the woman he loved, terror and dread making his stomach sink past his toes. Because he  _was_  an idiot, and now, he was positive, he'd just gone and fucked up the best thing that had ever happened to him. Probably irreversibly.

In his condo, Lily stood in the living room, trembling with rage and sorrow, and felt her eyes blurring with tears. Pain rooted her to the spot, fear and anxiety on what the hell she was supposed to do now rendered her immobile, and her broken heart was all but drowning in her embarrassment. Because she  _was_ bloody stupid. More than Scorpius for certain. Because like a foolish, naive, stupid  _ninny_ , she'd bought every last word he'd told her. Hell, she'd all but been glowing the last couple months, basking in the knowledge Scorpius loved her and their bean, but it had all been a facade. A ruse to lull her into a false sense of security, get a foot inside her life with Helena, and now the miserable prick was going to try and buy his way into parenthood for  _her_  child.

_Over my dead body._  She didn't need, or much want anymore, a red cent of Scorpius's money to raise her baby, and even if the bastard, at some point, paid child support, she'd starve before touching it. And while it might buy him the best lawyers that could wrestle visitation rights from her, and anything else he wanted, she'd be damned if he bought her, or Helena. Lily glanced into the little nursery at the baby, who looked peaceful, her plump little mouth pursing the slightest bit as she slept, and her heart, although broken, swelled larger with love for her baby.  _You've got me, and I've got you, Bean. And we don't need anyone else._

And while her baby slept on, Lily packed efficiently, hardening her heart against the weak urge to fall apart at the seams and bawl her eyes out over a tub of ice cream. She could do that later, after Helena went to bed for the night and they were settled back at her place.  _Home_ , she told herself sternly.  _Not just my place, but our home_. She called her cousin Rose after she'd packed the last of her and Helena's belongings into a large suitcase and several fabric shopping bags, hoping her cousin wouldn't be busy after work.

"Lily," Rose said by way of answering. "Please tell me you want me to come over. Did you get my message?"

"I do want you to come by," the redhead admitted, having entirely forgotten Rose had texted her. "But I haven't read your text. Why?"

Rose paused, clearly hesitating, but then said cheerfully, "It's no big deal. I'll tell you in person. Do you want me to come now? I'm just about finished at the office. I can even bring dinner if you haven't got anything ready."

Lily almost laughed at that, but the urge to start bawling again held it in. "I haven't even thought about dinner," she confessed. If she could've seen Rose's face, she'd have definitely laughed at the look of shock.

"I'll be there in a half hour," her cousin promised, and Lily rang off as Helena cried for her dinner from the bedroom, nap time clearly over. Half an hour later, the baby was fed, burped, and wearing a clean nappy, and Lily was feeling dangerously close to weepy once more. Lily picked up her phone when Rose called up, sounding a little breathless. "Hey girl, I just want to make sure you're up for another visitor," Rose said. Lily's brows pulled together, and she shoved aside the foolish, recklessly euphoric thought she'd brought Scorpius, because he'd come back from his trip early, to fix everything and explain that it was all just a mistake. That was as likely to happen as her winning the lottery, she was positive.

"Rosie, hurry up," said a distinctly male voice in the background and Lily wondered if her cousin was bringing the man she was all but positive the auburn haired, blue eyed woman had been hooking up with. Which could only mean it was serious for Rose. And then, "Tell Little Potter we're coming up, it's bloody freezing."

Lily's brows threatened to jump off her forehead, and before she could stop herself, forgetting entirely her own personal life crisis, she said bluntly, "Is that Chris?"

"Yes," Rose said softly, and Lily pictured her cousin elbowing the attractive, dark haired man. "I'll explain more in a minute. We're on our way up."

Lily unlocked the front door, because she knew from experience Chris wouldn't knock before entering, and got Helena settled on her playmat on the floor, smiling softly as the infant kicked and reached out for the dangling toys. "Honey, I'm home," came Chris's voice from the front door a few moments later.

"Stop talking, Pashkov," Rose hissed, even as Lily heard her go put bags of food down in the kitchen. "Lily?"

"In here," she called, and smiled at Helena, who seemed extra active and alertly bright eyed. Considering it was almost four in the afternoon, anyway, and she'd be going down to bed in another two and a half hours.

"Oh, my squishy!" Rose said, coming to sit beside Lily, and when Chris didn't appear, the redhead assumed he was helping himself to food. "Come to Aunty Rose, honey," Rose murmured, scooping up the baby and snuggling her.

"Are you going to tell me why it seems like you and Chris are dating?" Lily asked softly with a lifted brow, smiling a little at her cousin's obvious discomfort as blue eyes flicked away from her.

"About that," she mumbled awkwardly, and Lily smirked now. "Look, honestly, Lils, you have to believe I had no clue what-"

"Secrets don't keep friends," Chris teased as he came into the living room, holding a box of Chinese food in one hand and chopsticks in another. "What are you lot whispering about?" He glanced around then, and his dark brows lifted a fraction. "Going somewhere, Little Potter?"

Lily licked her lips, took a deep breath, and said very calmly, forcing her tears down by sheer force of will, "Yes."

"Where?" Chris asked, putting more food into his mouth.

"Home," Lily said firmly.

"Does Scor know you're packing up and ditching him?" he asked, and Lily felt her mouth turn down.

"Chris," Rose hissed. "Seriously, shut up."

"Just asking a question," he said, smirking a little.

"I imagine he'll figure it out really fast if he doesn't," Lily shot back, and then something like horror dawned on her. "You did this," she said, and Rose looked over at her cousin, then back to Chris, biting her lower lip.

"Did what?" Chris asked, looking perfectly innocent, his blue eyes challenging.

"Had me served," Lily said through numb lips. She heard a faint buzzing in her ears, a sure sign of apocalyptic-type rage approaching. She stood up slowly. "Whose idea was it to have the dirty work done after he'd gone?" she asked darkly. "I'm willing to bet that was your doing, Pashkov. Am I right?"

Chris regarded her for a beat, then grinned. "You've lost me, Little Potter," he drawled.

The redhead felt her hands clench into fists, but she wasn't stupid. If she snapped out on Chris, and he was her baby daddy's legal representation for their impending custody hearing, she'd be a fool to punch the bastard in the face like she pictured doing. She wouldn't give him any grounds to cite her as a bad, or unstable, mother. "It's not hard," she said levelly, glaring fiercely. "So let me speak slow for you, Chris. I know you're the one behind those court papers that I got served with yesterday. And although I doubt it took much convincing, I know you probably coerced Scorpius into signing them. What I want to know is if it was your decision or his to have me served when he was in another country."

"Neither," Chris said, looking unapologetic. "The courts are at such a backlog, it probably just happened to be bad timing that Scor was away."

Lily almost smiled, because if that was a slimy, oily,  _lawyer_  type answer, she didn't know what would be. "Fair warning," she said lightly, sitting back down beside her cousin, who was still snuggling the baby, "you're going to lose."

Chris chuckled a little, blue eyes bright, and he glanced at Rose. "Told you she wouldn't be mad at me, Rosie."

The blue eyed woman glared. "And I told  _you_  that you should be apologizing, you prick!" she snapped. She looked at her cousin, who seemed like she might explode into tears or screaming, or both, at any moment. "I told him not to meddle, Lily, honestly, and I only found out after the fact."

"It's fine," Lily lied, and forced a smile. "It was bound to happen eventually." She took a deep breath, and said blithely to Rose, "So, the real reason I called, do you want to help me cart all my shit back home tonight?"

"I'm in," Rose said loyally, and looked hard at Chris, who was eating steadily and seemed utterly unruffled, by either what he'd done, or Lily's reaction to it. "You going to help us, Pashkov?"

He grinned. "If I do, you'll owe me, Rosie."

"We'll see."

In the end, Chris ended up helping them with good grace, and after he'd taken the first load of bags down to Rose's yellow Jeep, Lily fixed her cousin with a piercing stare as she fed the baby. "So be straight with me, Rose," she said. "Are you and Chris dating?"

The auburn haired woman sighed, even as she tidied Scorpius's kitchen after dinner. "After this whole thing, it's questionable, but…" She sighed again.

"But you like him." It wasn't phrased as a question.

"I do," Rose admitted. "Which is awful, because it's  _Chris_ , and I think I might hate him sometimes, but the sex is  _amazing_."

Lily's mouth turned down at that, but she couldn't help but feel pleased her cousin had found a man she wanted to at least date. Rose was perpetually single, although she had lots of dates, and Lily knew if her cousin had actually gone to bed with Chris, it must be serious. "How long have you two been sneaking around then?" she asked.

"A couple months," Rose admitted, and red brows shot up.

"Is it serious?"

The auburn haired woman gulped. "Kind of," she mumbled. "Are you mad? I mean, after-?"

"No," Lily interrupted, and smiled reassuringly. "I can't picture Chris holding a gun to Scorpius's head, or forging his signature. And I can see why he did it." Rose frowned. "Seriously, Rose, I'm good. I meant it when I said this is probably for the best."  _Because better now than in six months, when I've fallen head over heels, or Scorpius is close enough to murder._

"If you say so, honey," her cousin murmured, and hugged her tight, just as Chris came back in.

By the time the next morning rolled in, bringing clear skies and frigid wind, Lily was settled back into her own flat, with baby Helena, and although she'd spent the entire night sobbing into her pillow and missing her traitorous baby daddy, loving him despite her broken heart, she felt a sense of peace upon waking. She had her baby, and she had her little flat, and she'd booked appointments to meet with the best custody lawyers in the city. Everything would be fine.

Her cell rang just after she'd put Helena down for her morning nap, and Lily, who'd been about to wash and sanitize her pumping equipment, paused and glanced at the display. It was Scorpius. Her heart, which had felt heavy all day despite her self assurances, sank to her toes, and she was half tempted to pick up. Instead, she turned the damn thing off and pushed Scorpius from her mind. The hurt was too raw and her emotions to unsteady to talk to him, or listen to his excuses and apologies, and Lily didn't care if she was being cowardly or petty. She didn't have a thing to tell Scorpius, other than to go to Hell, and she didn't want to hear his deep voice. So Lily ignored him entirely, for all that day, and all the next, and, slowly but surely, began to strip his existence from her life. She had all she wanted from him in Helena, and even if her heart kept on loving him and wanting to relive those glorious weeks where she'd been in a fantasy land and they'd played at being together with their baby, she refused to indulge it.

Scorpius felt a mixture of relief, depression, and utter exhaustion as he went to the baggage claim area of London's Heathrow, wanting nothing more than to see Lily and set things right immediately. And after claiming his bag, he moved toward where his car would be parked long term, praying to any and every god he could think of his baby mama, and their bean he missed more than the world, would be at his condo when he got there. Instead, he came face to face with Lily's older brother Albus and his no-longer best mate Chris Pashkov. He couldn't meet the former's eyes, and the latter he glared at.

"You look like shit," Albus said grimly as Scorpius drew level with them. Chris, wisely, kept his mouth shut.

"Not sleeping for three days can do that to a man," Scorpius replied stiffly.

"Not much to lose sleep over, mate," Chris said, and if looks could have killed, the dark haired, blue eyed man would be dead on his feet. "She took it better than expected."

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Scorpius growled taking a menacing step forward, but then Albus put a hand on his chest. "You had  _no right_ -"

"You signed the papers," Chris shot back, and shrugged. "I'm just trying to cover your ass for you."

Scorpius glared. "Not here," Albus said softly.

"You just hate that for two fucking seconds, I was happier than a pig in shit, and so you decided to ruin it for me," Scorpius said through gritted teeth. Chris lifted his brows.

"Bullshit," he shot back. "You know it's been two months, and you haven't paid a dime of support, right? And that at any second, she could've left you, gone to another country, and you'd have nothing, right? I'm playing by the book, mate, whether you like it or not."

"I don't want to play by the fucking book! I had everything under control," Scorpius growled. "And so help me fucking God, if the next time I see the woman I love and my baby is in a courtroom, I  _will_  kill you."

Chris glanced at Albus, who looked grim. "She moved out," he said shortly. Scorpius felt as if he'd been slugged in the solar plexus. "Back to her place. And she's requested that you don't go visit her."

Scorpius bit back the urge to tell Albus he didn't give a shit what she wanted, because he had to see her. "And Helena?" he asked gruffly.

Albus looked more uncomfortable than ever. "She said you can visit her," Chris answered, looking apologetic at last, and Scorpius felt his joy flatten. "Conditionally."

"You get an hour tomorrow, but you have to visit her at Rose's place," Albus said heavily. Scorpius swallowed thickly and nodded. It wasn't enough, not nearly, but he would take what he could get, and he wasn't about to push his luck with Lily. Because although he was furious at him, and might even hate him, Chris was right. Lily could disappear into the wind and he'd never see her, or Helena again, and then what would be the point of living?

"Okay," he said, and at last, the trio of men made it to the doors. The brisk February wind all but slapped Scorpius in the face, but he hardly felt it in the wake of his sorrow. Lily was gone, and Helena with her, and it would be damn near impossible to have them both back, tucked safely into his condo, completing his life, ever again. But goddamn it, he would try.

By the time he got back to his condo, after refusing Albus's offer of dinner and Chris's offer of drinks, Scorpius wanted nothing more than to sleep and wake up with all of the last three days being a nightmare. Instead, he checked his phone for a message from Lily that wasn't there, and stood at the doorway to his second bedroom that was furnished but utterly empty. Depression yawned like a gaping chasm within him. But he pulled up Lily from his contacts and sent her a text message anyway, although he doubted she'd read it. She hadn't read any of the dozen he'd sent thus far, since that disastrous phone call.

It was short, and to the point. He didn't bother asking her to come home to him, because that would be futile, and he wasn't a sucker for misery. Nor did he demand to see his baby, whom he missed with an excruciating hunger, because that would be even more futile, he was positive. Instead, he gave her the truth and asked something of her he felt certain she wouldn't begrudge him for.  _I love you. Give Helena a kiss for me_.

XXX


	20. Look What You Made Me Do

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Twenty - Look What You Made Me Do

Time seemed to go in fast forward over the next few weeks for Lily. Helena grew bigger and more bright eyed by the day, her blue eyes and peachy hair lightening steadily, and as the days morphed into weeks, and then an entire month since she'd seen Scorpius, Lily found every day becoming easier to live through, the stretches between thoughts of Scorpius longer, and the nights, ever so slightly, became more bearable to endure alone. And then the morning came, just as March couldn't get any windier or more lion-like, when Lily's lawyer, a tough-looking woman named Gloria Gretzer, called to tell her the courts had slotted a time for her custody hearing.

She gripped her cell phone tightly, feeling her heart hammering as Helena played on her stomach on her playmat, several favourite toys before her, making adorable baby noises. "What does that mean?" she asked stiffly, her lips feeling funny as they formed the words.

"That means you and the other party will go before a judge, and you'll both state what sort of custody agreement you're looking for. In our case, we're seeking sole custody, with supervised visitation, no more than bi-weekly. If the baby's father agrees to that, the judge bangs his gavel, documents are signed, and we're done."

Lily gulped but nodded. "And if not?" she asked a little hesitantly.

Gloria paused for the tiniest second. "In the event there's a major dispute, or difference of opinion, you'll likely be ordered into court mediation, which could drag out for months, or even years. My suggestion to you is, if you want this over and done with, don't be unreasonable. The judge could still order you and the baby's father to attend mediation, if they believe your demands are unreasonable."

Lily licked her lips. "So what then? I just roll over and let him get whatever?" she asked, feeling edgy.

Gloria snorted. "Hell no! Remember, this is  _your_  baby, Miss Potter. You've got those months he was in another country on your side, and you've got the fact he hasn't paid support, which any father should do before a court orders it. That's going to give you the upper hand, I think."

"Okay," Lily said, and let out a shaky breath, smiling as Helena face planted, then lifted her giant head again and reached for her rattle. She made plans to meet up with Ms. Gretzer before the custody hearing, to go over everything, and hung up, feeling anxious. She sent Rose a super fast text, even as Helena lost patience with tummy time and started crying.  _Call me, ASAP_! Rose called while she was feeding the baby, who suckled hungrily, and with purpose, making Lily almost miss those first unsure days. Almost.

"Is everything alright?" Rose asked without preamble. Lily sighed.

"I got my custody hearing date," she said, feeling dread settle in her belly even as she forced herself to say the words out loud.  _Custody hearing_. So innocent, those two words, and yet so vile.

Rose sucked in an audible breath. "And?"

Lily sighed. "I dunno. It feels...surreal. I just never-" The redhead broke off before she said something stupid, like she never thought it would actually come to that.

She'd been hoping Scorpius would come visit her, even on the pretext of seeing the baby, but he hadn't, and although she told herself unendingly it didn't matter, she still couldn't get over it. He just, quite obviously, hadn't  _wanted_  to. And that was the only thing, at times when she doubted whether to go through with everything, because it all felt like a recurring bad dream, that kept her going.

There had only been that one last text message from Scorpius, all the long weeks she hadn't seen him and tried to forget him.  _I love you. Give Helena a kiss for me._  And so what if Lily read it every night, and gave their daughter kisses on his behalf? She was  _over_  Scorpius Malfoy, because he so obviously was over her, like she'd always been afraid he would be.

"Lily," Rose said firmly, and Lily knew what was coming. "You have to do this. He gets to see Helena too, but she's still your baby, honey."

The redhead pouted, because her baby needed her, and while part of her wanted her daughter to have a great relationship with her father, she also selfishly wanted to hoard the adorable infant to herself. "I know," she grumbled. "Doesn't mean I have to  _like_  it."

"I know," Rose sighed. "Why don't you come over, let me have my squishy fix, and you can ransack my closet for whatever you like. You're swimming in the clothes you have now, honey." Lily scowled, but admitted her cousin had a point. She hadn't seen the point in buying anything new with her still transforming post-baby body, but it would be nice to have something different. And Rose always had the best things in her closet, assuming Lily would be able to squeeze herself into anything.

"Fine," she sighed.

"Swing by at six, and we'll do dinner. And I promise Chris won't be here."

Lily smirked, because she knew Rose was only saying it because she was convinced Lily dwelled too much on Scorpius, their non-relationship that obviously was still unresolved, with the complication of the custody suit. And the blue eyed, auburn haired woman was equally certain Chris, as her quasi-boyfriend, would remind Lily of the tall handsome blond she wasn't supposed to think about. "I don't care about him," Lily said sternly. "Seriously, Rose. I'm not a lovestruck sixteen year old, you don't have to baby me. I can see Chris, he's your boyfriend."

"He is not!" Rose said automatically, and Lily grinned.

"Is too," she shot back. "Deal with it, Weasley. It's more than fuck buddies. He probably half lives there anyway, doesn't he?"

There was a beat of silence. "Well, now you mention it, I-"

"Is he there now?" Lily asked dryly, even as Helena unlatched and wriggled. Her right breast felt soft and kind of flat, her left full and heavy. She lifted the baby to burp her, just in case, and after a tiny one, offered the other side. A little over nine pounds at birth, Helena had only grown bigger and heavier with the months, and Lily was looking forward to the time she wouldn't have to hold up her half-sleeping baby while she hesitated on the second round.

"That's not the point," Rose said after a moment, and then asked hesitantly, "Are you  _sure_  you're okay? I have no problems kicking-"

"Rose," Lily said, even as Helena latched properly and began feeding again. "I'm better at being an adult than you, I have a baby. Stop trying to soften the world for me. When do you want me over?"

"Come at six," Rose said. "And thanks, girl, I owe you one."

"You owe me lots, Weasley," Lily replied loftily. "See you at six."

There was something muffled, and Lily heard what sounded like clothing brushing the phone, and then Rose said, "Actually, six thirty."

Lily snorted, even as Helena began drifting off. "First of all, gross. Second, we'll say six fifteen, because I doubt he could last that long." Rose burst out laughing and Lily hung up on her, laughing herself, genuinely, for what felt like the first time in forever.

And when she showed up at six thirty, just in case, Lily found her cousin and Chris looking utterly respectable, and both in good form. Instantly Helena was taken from her car seat by Rose, who snuggled her up, sighing. "Don't go getting ideas, Rosie," the dark haired man said with a lifted brow.

"Bugger off somewhere, Chris. I'm just getting my snuggles in now, when she can't do much about it, alright?" she murmured, kissing her god daughter's head. "Huh, her hair looks lighter, Lils."

Lily stiffened a little, having put her bag down and settled herself on Rose's couch. "Don't remind me," she replied darkly. It had been a jarring moment, just the day before, when she noticed that her daughter's eyes weren't really blue with some grey, but really grey with some blue. And her lovely halo of fuzz that constituted hair wasn't really peachy, or strawberry blonde even, because it was growing in just blonde.

"She's going to look like her dad I think," Chris said archly. Lily's mouth pursed, but she forced herself to shrug.

"She's going to look like herself," Lily said, striving to sound equable. "And regardless, she's going to be beautiful, always."

"Probably," Chris replied, grinning. "And if she's anything like her daddy, she'll be one helluva smooth talker, am I right?"

"Chris, shut  _up_ ," Rose hissed. Lily waved a hand.

"I like to think she'll wind up more like myself in personality." The redhead forced a smile. "If only because she might very well end up resembling her father."

Chris left after a fifteen minute snuggle with his technical goddaughter, whom he referred to almost exclusively as Squish, and a not so subtle look from his girlfriend, and after he'd gone Lily and Rose dug into dinner. "So be straight with me," Rose said after they'd made plates. "Are you okay?"

Lily frowned.  _What kind of question is that_!? "Of course," she said crisply, with a look that said to drop it. Rose sighed.

"It's just…" Rose looked uncomfortable, then plowed on bravely, "You look kind of exhausted, like to the point of being a zombie almost, and I'm worried. And your mum is worried. She called me." Lily smacked a palm against her forehead.

"Ugh! You meddling Weasleys! I'm fine! I don't need anyone to worry about me! I've got the baby thing down, I'm perfectly fine, and Helena is doing great, so there's  _no need_  to worry!"

"Then why are you shouting at me?" Rose said. "You're normally the cool collected one. And I know you."

Lily threw her arms up in the air, because there was no winning. "Know what about me?" she sighed wearily.

"You miss him." It was the truth, but Lily shook her head. She didn't want to miss somebody who could care less.

"So?" she said, waving her fork. "I miss the help, but it's fine. I've got this."

"Lily, you know if you ever need a break you can ask for help," Rose said softly. "It doesn't make you any less amazing or somehow less of a mum, admitting it's a lot." Lily felt her temper flash, but forced it down, because she knew Rose, and her mother and everyone else, only wanted the best for her. And Lily conceded it would be heaven to have a lie-in, just once.

"I know," the redhead replied as they ate. "Look, how about I let my mum have Helena Sunday night, and we can do something, just us girls." Rose's face brightened.

"Yes!" she said automatically, then her gaze roved critically over Lily's stretchy black yoga pants that had the tiniest bit of spit up on them, and her ratty old tank top and too-big sweatshirt. "Although we're going to need to find you some real clothes, girl. You look like-" Rose broke off abruptly and Lily smirked.

"You can say it," she teased. "I look like shit."

Rose shook her head, forking in the last bite of taco salad. "I was gonna say you look like a single mum, and one who's forgotten what it took to get that super adorable baby of yours. Seriously, Lils, when's the last time you brushed your hair?" Rose teased.

"Yesterday," Lily admitted, and giggled. "But fine. I'll drop the bean off after dinner on Sunday, I'm sure Mum will be thrilled, and you can take me for beautifying."

Rose grinned, looking like she was plotting something. "Deal. But that includes drinks after, just to make sure I've still got the touch."

Lily rolled hazel eyes. "The touch?" she repeated, finishing her own dinner. Rose got up to put plates in the sink.

"Yes. The touch. The magic touch that makes you into a hot mama, or have you forgotten it was  _my_  little black dress you borrowed on your birthday last year and me who did you hair for you?" Lily laughed, then realized her birthday was coming up, and rapidly. Rose seemed to realize too, and her mouth went round.

"No," Lily said instantly.

"Come  _on_!"

"No," the redhead repeated. "I am so not letting that happen. Besides, I'm somebody's mother, I can't go out drinking and partying and acting stupid for my birthdays anymore." Rose rolled blue eyes at her cousin.

"Too bad, Potter. We're going out for your birthday, and Sunday's just going to be the dress rehearsal. Come on, it'll be fun."

"You said that last time," Lily grumbled, even as she moved to pick up Helena, who was in her element, kicking her legs into the air, practicing rolling over with little success, and grinned as her baby cooed and smiled at her.

"And I wasn't wrong," Rose replied, lifting the baby from Lily's arms. "Are you changing her?" Lily nodded, smirking as Rose took over. "You had lots of fun on your birthday last year. And I'm holding the proof right here," she said.

Lily gulped, because that was true, all of it, but she would rather cut out her own heart than repeat the experience. And all at once, she felt the familiar surge of longing, and unrequited love for Scorpius, the pain of wanting and needing but never getting again. She forced herself not to cry, staring at her baby. The proof that she'd loved Scorpius, and he'd, at one point maybe, loved her back. It would be enough.  _It has to be_ , she told herself firmly.

"Fine, we can go out for my birthday," Lily said after getting her emotions under control.

"And I get to play dress up vicariously through you?"

"Fine," Lily grumbled, and Rose beamed.

"It'll be great, I promise," Rose said, and Lily grimaced a semblance of a smile.

Meanwhile, across town, Scorpius was pacing his condo, feeling beyond furious and wanting to punch someone in the face. "I fucking hate you," he ground out from between gritted teeth. To his credit, Chris didn't react. "I really do fucking hate you. This is all your fucking fault!"

"He didn't sign the damn papers, Scor," Albus said from the kitchen, coming back with a bottle of scotch and a third glass.

"Fuck you too," Scorpius spat.

"Anyway, just go, smile and nod, and it's done, right?" Albus said, gesturing vaguely to the court papers on the blond's sparse coffee table. "Easy as pie."

"He won't just smile and nod," Chris said in a quiet, thoughtful voice. Scorpius and Albus both glared now. "You good with every other week for two hours, that's it that's all?" he challenged.

Scorpius, who'd been about to take a drink of his own scotch, paused. "What?" he breathed, feeling his heart stutter. He'd seen Helena three times since Lily had left him, three glorious times, for a little over an hour each, and he'd held her, and snuggled her, and marvelled at her growth and beauty, wishing he had more. He didn't want to be a paycheck, and the half-stranger who visited her twice a month. He wanted to tuck her into bed every night, and kiss her, and be able to tell stories of diaper-blowouts he'd had to handle, and see her do all the things he'd read up on extensively. He wanted  _every minute_  of every day with her.

"Lily wouldn't do that," Albus said, sounding distinctly unsure.

"She's going to try," Chris said with certainty, looking grim. "So I ask you again, Scor, you want more than a couple hours twice a month?"

"I want her every other day!" Scorpius snapped. "You told me, you and that high-priced jackass you recommended, you both said I was entitled to  _equal visitation_!"

"And you are. So long as you can prove to a judge that's what's best for the baby."

Albus pushed a hand through his hair, looking weary. "Did you really have to come over here and start pushing his buttons?" he asked sullenly. The dark haired, green eyed man had been trying, most of the evening, to convince Scorpius to be patient and just wait until  _after_  the custody hearing to talk to Lily and tell her whatever it was he had to say. Albus thought, personally, it was better if his friend didn't see his sister at all, until he'd obviously gotten over whatever kind of crush he'd developed. He doubted, should Scorpius see her again, that would happen though, and he'd been trying for the last month to convince Scorpius him and Lily living separate lives would be for the best.

"Yes," Chris answered. "I'm just presenting the facts, Potter."

Scorpius knocked back his scotch. "So what, she's going to try and keep my baby from me?" Scorpius asked bitterly.

"No," Albus said firmly. "Lily wouldn't do that."

"Who's side are you on?" Scorpius demanded, then felt guilty, because he was certain it must be hard on Albus to be stuck between his family and friend, who were so obviously at odds, and still be loyal to both. "Never mind," he mumbled. "I didn't mean-"

"I'm on your side," Albus said at last, because he didn't like the thought of Lily being so selfish with a person.

"Regardless of sides, you have homework," Chris said. Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. First thing, you better back pay Little Potter for child support since Squish was born, and maybe throw in a little more for good measure."

Scorpius merely stared at him. "What?" he finally breathed.

"I think about two grand should cover it. Maybe twenty five hundred if you're feeling generous," Chris said, nodding. Scorpius could still only stare, and then Albus burst out laughing.

"You're a dumb bastard if you think for a second Lily's going to accept it," the green eyed man said, chuckling again. "She'll tell him to shove the money up his rich arse."

Scorpius's mouth twitched, ever so slightly, because he could just see her doing precisely that. "Al's right she won't take it," he said miserably.

"She won't have a choice," Chris said, looking smug. "She can't pull that out as a trump card if you've done it and she's refused. If anything, that might even get you free of paying anything at all. Especially if you get equal custody."

Scorpius shook his head, because it felt wrong and traitorous and slimy to be plotting how to fight dirty against Lily over something as innocent as their bean. And he didn't want innocent little Helena to ask him, someday, what a custody agreement was. "I fucking hate this," he spat, his heart breaking even more, into tinier and harder to reassemble bits.

"Tough it out, mate," Chris said grimly.

The blond glared, but then Albus said, with the wisdom of a half-hearted ally, "You don't  _have_  to do this, y'know."

Scorpius hated that thought. Because damn it all to hell, it was bloody tempting, and had been from the precise second he'd heard about Chris filing the custody papers he'd signed to mollify his friend, not actually go through with. He could, at any time before that court date, simply withdraw his claim, and sit back and hope to God Lily saw fit to have their daughter see him.

But that was a double edged sword, with no guarantees. The only thing he could hope in that scenario was for Lily to take mercy on him, at worst, and to still, somehow, love him and want him, at best. And yet, he hadn't done it, because he was terrified Lily would hate him, and be furious enough to withhold Helena until he was a stranger to her. And because he was foolish enough, and self-torturing enough, he still loved Lily and hated that he could even think the worst of her.

So he took the coward's way out, did nothing, and hoped to God the courts would see him as a desperate man wanting to know and love his own daughter, even if it meant he'd lose Lily forever, as sure as he knew his own name. And Scorpius kept telling himself he was doing the right thing.

"I have to do it, Al," he said heavily, and moved to pour himself more scotch, although he definitely didn't need it.

"What you have to do is get out, mate," Chris said, and grinned. "You keep sitting at home, drinking alone and pining for a woman who won't have you, you start to turn awfully pathetic, you know."

"Go fuck yourself," Scorpius replied.

Albus frowned. "You're a prick, Chris. But you're not wrong. C'mon, mate," he said to the blond. "You  _should_  get out. It'd do you good, get your mind off things."

"I don't want to go out," Scorpius said, sounding petulant, even to his own ears. He  _wanted_  to go to Lily's, break down her damned front door if he had to, even if he had to fight his way past her hulking neighbour, and demand to see her, to drink in the sight of her, and Helena. Because he fucking  _missed_  them, equally, and with an insatiable hunger.

"Come on," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "Time to move on, Scor."

"You're such a fucking bastard," Scorpius growled, fist clenching, all but itching to punch his idiotic friend right square in the face.

"He can't help it," Albus said blandly, and drank some of his own scotch. "He's climbed on board the sucker train, right into Feelingsville, right Pashkov?" Chris flipped him off. "How is Rose, by the way?"

"Splendid," Chris replied and Scorpius gripped his glass so hard he was surprised it didn't shatter.

"You're dating Rose Weasley?" Scorpius asked. He'd had his suspicions, especially when he'd seen them over Christmas.

"I'd use that term loosely," Chris replied with astounding nonchalance. "We're experiencing a mutually beneficial arrangement is more accurate."

"Which is code for you're shagging her rotten until you find the next one," Albus said, pulling a face. "Chris, you might just be depraved, mate."

"But thankfully not deprived," Chris said, smirking, and Scorpius scowled.

"You bastard," he said, but vowed, if only to get even with the motherfucker, the tall blond would find some way to ruin that relationship.

Chris sent him an apologetic look. "You're supposed to wait until I mention how much Squish is starting to look like you to tell me that."

"You really are a bastard," Scorpius said, even if he felt a little wriggle of pride at that news. It was swiftly followed by a stab of guilt, because he wanted to see for himself, but he'd gone and ruined that, hadn't he? Just then his phone buzzed from within his trouser pocket, and he pulled it out, brows lifting as the display told him it was his mother calling.

"Who is it?" Albus asked, but Scorpius merely walked away, picking up on the third buzz, half dreading the conversation he knew would follow.

"Hello, Mother." He barely held back the accompanying sigh.

"Scorpius, darling, put Lily on the phone. The maternity photos  _finally_  came back, and they're just breathtaking. I need to decide which ones to have framed up, of course, so we simply must do lunch, you see. And of course, my granddaughter can come, too."

Scorpius swallowed thickly, almost tempted to laugh with dark humour. Put Lily on the phone… If only. "You'll have to call her, Mother," he said instead, forcing his voice to be utterly bland and without inflection.

"Don't be silly, Scorpius. Just put her on the phone. Or isn't she there? Drat, I thought-"

"She doesn't live here anymore, Mum," he said softly, the words costing more than he was certain his mother would ever know.

"What on earth do you-?"

"So you'll have to phone Lily, Mother, although I can't promise it will be a well received call."

"Scorius, stop beating around the bush, what in the world do you mean, she doesn't live with you?" The blond opened his mouth to explain, but Astoria, at last, got there. "Oh good Lord, she moved out?" she said.

"Yes," Scorpius confirmed, still in that bland voice.

"Why?" Astoria demanded. "And she took the baby I'll wager. Oh, Scorpius, whatever happened?"

Scorpius did sigh now. "I don't really want to talk about this, mother," he said, and rubbed a hand over his face. He was exhausted, but sleep was proving his enemy now that he had no Lily to fall asleep next to. Because his body craved her, and his traitorous mind dreamt of her whenever he did sleep, and Scorpius had no idea how to stop remembering her.

"Very well," Astoria said primly. "What is her address? I shall speak with her myself." Scorpius choked a little.

"No!" he said, because that would be a surefire way to stir things up impossibly worse, he was positive.

"Come now, Scorpius, I meant about the photos!"

The tall blond breathed a sigh of relief, but instead gave his mother Lily's cell phone number, feeling a little bad for the redhead, because he doubted his mother would be nice when she telephoned, and yet that would still undoubtedly be better than having her just show up at Lily's residence.

He went back to his drink and friends, and found them preparing as though to leave. "Come on, then," Albus said when Scorpius just stared at them for a beat.

"What?" Scorpius said blankly.

"We're going out," Chris announced. "And you lack any choice whatsoever, so get your bloody coat, Scorpius."

Scorpius merely stared, but then he shook his head. If it would get them off his back, he would go out, think of Lily all night, longing for  _anything_  from her, and compare any woman who might deign to look his way to her and undoubtedly find them wanting, and go home to be miserable alone and in peace at the end of the night. "Alright," he mumbled, going to get his coat. "I'll go," he said, feeling resigned.

"Atta boy!" Chris said brightly, and Albus clapped him on the shoulder.

"You'll be glad you did, mate."

Scorpius doubted it, but pasted on his fakest smile and put on shoes. "Where to then, lads?"

XXX


	21. New Rules

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Twenty One - New Rules

Lily woke up on the morning of her custody hearing feeling equally nervous and calm. Nervous, because she'd never actually been in a courtroom, or before a judge, and that kind of freaked her out, but calm, because she knew what she had to do. She started her day like any other, feeding Helena, getting her clean and dressed for the day, then got herself ready, taking care to make sure she looked her best, elegant and refined.

Her mother would be watching Helena during the proceedings, and although Lily hated leaving her baby with anyone, she knew Helena would be in great hands and her mother would be in heaven. She caught a cab to the courthouse and was early, and while she waited to meet her lawyer, she paced the hallway, heels clicking on the marble. "You didn't bring her," said a voice from behind her, thoroughly scattering her thoughts, and making her face burn and temper flash at the familiar, deep timbre.

"Scorpius," she said through gritted teeth, smiling and trying to sound polite. He was with a fifty-ish looking man with dark hair and beady, calculatingly dark eyes, and dressed in flawless charcoal grey Armani, and to Lily he was perfect.

"You look good," he murmured, and Lily closed her eyes for a beat, savouring the comment, then forced herself to hate him once more.

"Thanks," she said brightly. "I guess that's because motherhood suits me." She stopped smiling. "It'd be a shame if someone took that from me," she said with a pointed look at the man standing beside and slightly behind Scorpius, whom she took to be his lawyer. Just then Gloria Gretzer arrived, and Lily turned away with a polite smile once more, feeling edgy and dangerously close to crying.

"You have to get it together," Gloria said softly, handing Lily a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes. "This is serious business."

"I know," she said, and straightened her shoulders. She could do this! Even as her stomach cramped in fear and she felt guilt settle over her heavily.

Twenty minutes later, the hearing proceeded, and Lily waited, unsure if she'd be able to talk, as Scorpius's lawyer spoke, then her lawyer spoke, and the judge sat back in his chair. Lily looked up at the man who could decide her daughter's life, or at least how much of Scorpius was in it. He had grey hair, still thick and shining, and an impressive moustache the same colour. And although he looked thoughtful, he wasn't frowning. "So, what are we looking at then?" he said at last, and glanced at Scorpius.

"We're seeking equal visitation, or close to it," Scorpius's lawyer said, all slick smiles. "Three days a week, consecutive, the child would live with my client. For the other four days, every week, the child would remain with it's mother."

"Her mother," Scorpius said, narrowing his eyes a tiny bit.

"And how old is this baby?" the judge asked, looking thoughtful still.

Lily answered automatically, without thinking, because she was still shocked Scorpius wanted her for three solid days a week. She couldn't fathom it, with his work schedule. "Fifteen weeks and four days." She blushed as everyone looked at her, and added hastily, "Your Honor," just in case.

"And what is the defence seeking?" he asked.

Lily had to bite her tongue against replying, and her lawyer said firmly, "Supervised visitation every other week. The length of time for each visit negotiable."

The judge's brows pulled together. "I see." He looked from Lily to Scorpius and back, then said with an air of finality, "It appears the both of you are looking for entirely different things," he said, and looked thoughtful. "In that case, I propose," Lily braced for him to say attending mediation, but it still didn't help, "court-monitored mediation to resolve the obvious differences, with the chance to reconvene before this court in a month's time, should an agreement be reached. Case pending," the judge said, and banged his gavel. He then looked rather sternly at both of them, making Lily's heart flutter nervously, knowing she didn't have quite the purest intentions.

Lily made an appointment to meet up with her lawyer before mediation would start, in a week or so, and was heading out of the courthouse feeling equally disappointed this whole dilemma wasn't over with, and eager to get home to Helena. She paused as someone called her name, and felt her heart stutter painfully when she realized it was Scorpius, again, and he was coming toward her. A large part of Lily wanted to run away, but she told herself to woman up, because whether she liked it or not, she'd be seeing a whole lot more of the tall handsome blond, and she had to be able to do so without losing her carefully constructed sanity. Instead she forced a polite smile and said blandly, "Malfoy."

Dark grey eyes roved over Lily where she stood, just before the doors to the courthouse, looking lovelier than ever and utterly ravishing. She had her dark purple coat unbuttoned, revealing a ruffled cream blouse and sleek, very fitted, very dark wash jeans, paired with a tan and fuschia plaid scarf and dark knee high boots with barely any heel. And to Scorpius, she looked perfect, considering she had a bunch of clothes over her naked form.

He spoke without meaning to. "I miss you," he said blankly, and then added in the next moment, "And I  _really_  miss Helena."

Lily's lush pink mouth pursed, expression wintry. "That must be excruciating," she said tightly, and made to turn away.

"You know we need to talk," he said, hoping against all odds she'd somehow want to listen to him. Lily paused, then glanced back over her shoulder, already reaching out to push the doors open.

"And as soon as the courts set a date, we will, about the only thing between us," she said, then looked away.

Scorpius felt his chance to see her, relish in the sight of her, slipping away. "That's not the only thing between us, Lily," he said, trying to reign in the urge to pull her against himself and snog her senseless. "We've got more in common than our bean."

"Like what?" Lily snapped softly. "Anything that might have been is gone now," she sneered, and pushed out into the sunshine, forcing her heart to stop thinking about him.

"You know what," Scorpius said, following her on instinct. He had to rein in the urge to tangle both hands in her hair, which flowed around her head in a mess of waves that tumbled in the wind, and kiss her when she turned to glare at him. He swallowed his pride. "I love you, Lily. I'll do whatever you want if you just give me a chance to prove it."

She looked at him levelly, hazel eyes bright and intelligent as ever, and then her mouth tilted up crookedly, and for a beat, Scorpius recalled her as he'd seen her on her thirtieth birthday. All coy and teasing, sexy and enticing, and a complete shock to his system. "Then in a month, when the judge asks if you agree with me, say yes," she said, and moved away from him, to go catch the subway to her mother's.

The blond could merely watch her walk away from him, feeling as though he'd been punched in the gut. Give up all but the tiniest ties to Helena on the off chance Lily might still want him, although his instincts told him she never could? It felt far too risky. He couldn't do it. No, there was way too much to lose, way too much on the line, and he was just as deeply in love with Helena was he was her mother.  _And if that's all of Lily I get, that will be enough._  "I can't do that," he said to himself, trying to feel convinced he couldn't, simply  _couldn't_ , bend to Lily's wishes.

One week later, he found out the date for his first mediation meeting with Lily. And he almost smiled when he noticed it was on her birthday.  _Perfect. Just fucking perfect_. Now Scorpius was positive all he'd be able to think about was the night a year before said date, when Lily had been the best lay of his life and they'd made little Helena.

"You look like someone just kicked you in the balls," Albus said, sitting down across from him at his favourite bar. Scorpius merely slid the letter he'd just opened over. Albus read quickly, mouth turning down. "Shit," he mumbled, folding the piece of paper back up. "That sucks it's on her birthday."

"You have no idea," Scorpius muttered, and sighed. "I talked to her," he admitted, and Albus carefully controlled the instant scowl that threatened.

"Oh yeah? When?"

Scorpius swallowed thickly. "After our court date," he said. Albus didn't comment. "She…" He didn't know how to tell his best mate she had looked like everything he wanted and couldn't have. "She's still angry."

"Course she is," Albus said, and Scorpius's blond brows pulled together. "It's Lily, stubborn redhead to a tee." Albus flagged a waitress, then added, "Besides, if the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be furious."

Scorpius conceded his friend had a point there. "She said she'd give me another chance," he sighed, and Albus's mouth dropped open in shock. "So long as I go along with whatever she wants whenever we go in front of the judge again."

"She's gone mad," Albus said automatically. "You deserve more than a half dozen hours a month with your own kid, Scor."

Scorpius felt a prickle of unmanly tears behind his eyelids, blinking to clear the feeling, because Malfoys don't cry and he didn't want to embarrass himself. "Thanks," he said roughly, and cleared his throat, as Albus looked uncomfortable. The waitress breezed in to take their orders, and break the awkward tension, but with his food, Scorpius didn't order another drink.

Lily woke up on her birthday feeling tired. Last night had been awful. She'd been too wound up to sleep, so she'd cleaned her kitchen instead, from top to bottom, with ruthless determination to tire herself out. It didn't work. She went to bed, but tossed and turned, unable to stop thinking about her birthday, and the impending mediation session she was being court ordered to attend with Scorpius. And there could be no changing it. She sighed, then forced herself to stop drowning in self pity, get up, and start her day. Rose was scheduled to come by at one, to watch the baby, and Lily would borrow her car, convinced it would make a difference for her to drive herself there. Even if it freaked her out.

By the time Lily had parked, after paying the exorbitant sum of six dollars no less, and got into the courthouse and received directions on where to go from a security guard, she felt frazzled. Ten minutes, and two wrong turns and retracing of steps, later, Lily got to Mediation Room Four, and felt winded, because there was only two minutes to go until the timer for their one hour session started, and she hadn't had time, fearing lateness, to prepare herself mentally for seeing Scorpius. And in her haste, she merely bowled into the room, stopping short at the sight of those dark grey eyes roving over her, all but undressing her where she stood as they had the last time she'd seen them, while Scorpius smirked at her. "Sorry if I'm late," she mumbled, blushing, and moving into the room after closing the door, taking the seat beside her lawyer.

"Right on time," said the mediator, a young man with a navy and lime green suit and shirt combo that Lily rather liked for its flamboyance, who introduced himself as Sean O'Leary. "Let's begin," he said briskly, and Lily peeked over at Scorpius, who looked utterly professional, and emotionless, and positively mouth watering levels of handsome in his black Calvin Klein, her favourite of all his suits.

"Can I just say one thing first?" Scorpius asked as the mediator cleared his throat, consulting the court notes. A brow was lifted at the request, but the mediator nodded, glancing at Lily, who grit her teeth into a smile. "Happy birthday, Lily," Scorpius murmured in the low, seductively husky voice that reminded her only of sex with him.

Her breathing hitched and her smile wavered a tiny bit. "Thank you," she said with as little feeling as possible, although she couldn't meet his eyes for fear her heart would break even more than it already had.

"Let's begin," the mediator said again, and Lily nodded mutely, trying not to remember, to little avail. "There's obviously a disconnect here, but I'm confident we can come to an agreement you can both commit to and feel good about. After all, the aim here is for the child to have the best of both parents."

Lily barely refrained from scoffing. Helena had the best with her already, and the redhead was quite sure her daughter was loved enough for two parents. And she was confident once the issue of breastfeeding was brought in, which she and her lawyer had agreed would be the best route to go, the mediator would veto any three day stays with Scorpius. Because Lily simply couldn't handle that, being away from Helena for seventy two consecutive hours.

Across the table, Scorpius looked grouchy. "Which requires more than a casual acquaintance for both parties," he said, in perfect political response.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but the mediator held up a hand. "Duly noted, Mr. Malfoy. I can assure you that is  _not_  the intent of this meeting."

"You can't take my baby away from me for three days in a row, Scorpius," Lily finally burst out, feeling furious she'd been told to hush and he'd had his ego petted. "She  _needs_  me. Or have you forgotten I'm the one who feeds her?"

"They make baby formula," he shot back, quick as lightning, and Lily felt her stomach drop unpleasantly.

"You can't do that," she breathed. "You  _can't_  do that!" That was her thing.  _Her thing_. She fed the baby, and Helena had never had anything but her own breast milk. It simply did not compute in her brain that her daughter could be fed anything else.

"Says who?" the blond demanded.

"I think-" the mediator said, trying to cut in, but Lily was faster.

"Says me, Scorpius! This is  _my_  baby!"

"Our baby," he corrected.

Lily felt her eyes welling up, and even though she wanted to stomp away, she remained seated. "Barely yours," she replied. "You haven't even paid support." She didn't want to fling that at him, because it wasn't really a concern of hers, but she felt like she was running out of reasons he shouldn't have any real part of her baby.

His mouth thinned ever so slightly at that, but then he reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out what looked like a cheque. "Somehow I never thought you'd go there," he said with obvious distaste, and then slid the piece of paper toward her. "But there you are."

She flushed, because if that wasn't a proverbial slap in the face, she had no clue what could be. And Lily had to bite back the initial urge to tell him to shove his money up his ass after going and fucking himself with it. She pressed her mouth firmly together instead, taking a deep breath as an uncomfortable silence followed, the cheque just sitting there before her on the table. Then the mediator, to her undying relief, decided to step in.

"Alright," he said, looking a tad flustered, "this might take some time, but I can assure you, we can get to a more negotiable situation, for the  _both_  of you, in due time. For now, I'm just going to be collecting data. Now, Ms. Potter, you mentioned being the child's food source. I need you to elaborate on that."

Lily almost smirked, and said quite firmly, "What else is there to say? 'The child', my daughter, Helena, is breast fed. And I happen to be in possession of the breasts that do so."

The court clerk bushed and Lily smiled, and glanced gloatingly at Scorpius. "Right," O'Leary mumbled, and then cleared his throat. "Well, that's a fairly, er, encompassing aspect of this proceeding. The, ah, er, food source for the child, that is."

Scorpius rolled dark grey eyes. "And how many bags of extra milk do you have, right now, at home?" Scorpius demanded, lifting a brow.

"They're small bags!" Lily said automatically, blushing guiltily. "And they're for an  _emergency_. Like if I have to be rushed to hospital or something, God forbid."  _Or I go to jail for punching you in the face right now, you bastard_!

Scorpius lifted a brow. "Probably more than enough for three days."

"That is of little consequence!" she shot back. "Helena needs me."

Scorpius stared at her, looking determined and staunch, a formidable adversary, but his eyes were sad. "And despite what you may think, she needs me too. And I need her, probably as much as you do."

"Yeah right," she replied automatically, and then bit her lip, because Scorpius glared.

"Let's try to stay on task!" the mediator said, and Lily bit her tongue against telling him to fuck off, even as Scorpius did the same.

After the hour of mediation was up, Scorpius had a headache and a bad feeling in his gut. He walked out to his car and spotted Lily easily in the car park, her telltale hair blowing in the breeze as thunderclouds thickened overhead, promising rain. He wanted to run to her, pull her against himself to make sure she was still real, and that her body felt as perfect against him as it had before, and taste her one last time. Instead he watched her get in a vaguely familiar car and back awkwardly out of her space before driving slowly away, the bad feeling his his belly intensifying.

In one hour, he'd gone from being on somewhat speaking terms with Lily, to her pretty much hating him in silence, he was positive. But if she wasn't going to budge, neither would he! Scorpius couldn't bear the thought of only seeing Helena every other weekend. She'd grow and do things, and he'd probably miss all of it with that arrangement, and the blond absolutely refused to do that willingly. And yet Scorpius was certain, if they continued this mediation business much longer, he'd ruin any chance forever of ever being more than Lily's baby daddy. It was an uncomfortable thought to sit with, knowing it could never ever be between them if he got his way with equal, mostly, visitation, because Scorpius was positive he'd never know how to stop loving her.

Lily sat in the parking lot for her building for a good ten minutes after parking Rose's car, and let the tears finally go. She'd been holding them in, furious that Scorpius had, quite methodically, laid out a compelling case for him having equal visitation. And even though Lily had pointed out he worked at all hours, so how would that be at all viable, Scorpius had been at the ready with an answer, like he had at all of her objections. A nanny.

And after that, Lily couldn't even speak she was so furious and close to tears. She didn't want some random stranger she would probably never meet just taking care of her still almost newborn baby, with zero supervision. That Scorpius had even suggested it made her so hurt and angry, as if someone else could be a better substitute mother than she herself could be as the real deal, she wanted to scream. Instead she got it together, wiped her face and repaired her mascara, then went upstairs, feeling at peace when she'd scooped up her daughter and snuggled her close.

By the time the next mediation session rolled around, Lily was back to feeling confident she'd get her way, because she was Helena's  _mother_  for crying out loud. She would get full custody. After the hour long session, where Scorpius avoided eye contact with her, and barely spoke, the redhead felt oddly unsettled. Although she and her lawyer made it very clear anything over twelve consecutive hours wouldn't fly, period, and Scorpius's lawyer, grudgingly, agreed to it, even as he shot his client a dark look, Lily had been thrown by the blond man's lack of argument, like last time.

And, because she'd been stupid and thinking with her heart instead of her brain, had foolishly said she would drop the supervision clause for Helena's visits with Scorpius. Lily hadn't thought, considering he'd so readily agreed anything past twelve hours would be too much for all parties, Helena included, to handle, there would be much point to having some court appointed supervisor. And she wanted to show Scorpius, in that brief moment of insanity, she was capable of trusting him. Although now that she was back home, Lily was feeling distinctly uneasy about it.

It was five thirty six when a knock came at her door a couple weeks later, and Lily's brows pulled together, even as she got up from the couch to answer it, because she wasn't expecting anyone. She'd just finished a gourmet microwave dinner, followed by a ham and cheese sandwich, with a huge glass of orange juice, and was preparing to start pumping while Helena dozed in her bouncy seat. She didn't bother checking the peephole, even though she knew she was probably close to looking like a bum she was so sloppily dressed, and opened the door wide, opening her mouth to greet whoever it might be. But then shock rendered her speechless. Because there, at her door, looking flawless in navy Armani and yet thoroughly rumpled, tie undone, shirt unbuttoned and hair a mess, stood Scorpius Malfoy.

"Oh, you are home," he said simply, sounding a little surprised, and Lily got a whiff of whiskey on his breath.

The redhead hadn't seen him since their last mediation session, four days ago. He literally hadn't said a word. And neither had she. And both their lawyers had talked in circles the entire time, neither giving an inch since their previous strides in the second and third sessions, where they'd at least gotten to the idea of every other weekend for one twelve hour period unsupervised.

Lily wouldn't give anything more than he would, and if he was done negotiating, she could be too. After all, she already had Helena. And now they were set to go to court the next day, to go before the judge and tell him they hadn't reached any kind of agreement in their custody debacle. Lily wanted to punch something when she even thought it. She didn't want to sit in a tiny room with Scorpius and some lawyers and a court mediator who didn't seem to be very competent, didn't want to discuss what she could 'be reasonable' about in regards to the supervision of her infant. And she knew she'd never get what she really wanted, which was Scorpius to come back and complete their little family. Because she couldn't risk her fragile heart and if it broke any more, there was no chance of having enough left whole for Helena.

"Of course I'm home," she said after a beat of silence where Scorpius just stared at her. "Where else would I be?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. I just kind of told myself you probably wouldn't be here so I'd get up enough courage to knock." Her brows lifted at his honesty and he winced a tiny bit. "Anyway, now that we've established you are home and-"

"What do you want Scorpius?" Lily asked, glancing back to Helena in her little living room.

"I want to see my baby.  _Our_ baby," he said, and swallowed.

Lily's brows lifted again. "And why the hell should I let you?" she demanded. "You've been drinking."

His mouth hardened. "I've had one drink. And because I bloody miss her, alright?" he snarled, and pushed a hand through his hair, messing it up further. "It's like a fucking pain, and you probably have no clue, because she's yours, and you don't even have to share her, but goddamn it, I just want to even  _look_  at her if that's all you'll give me."

The redhead hesitated, but then stepped back and waved a hand in. "She's dozing, so she might be a grump if you wake her."

Scorpius nodded, and moved into her apartment. "Thank you," he said roughly, pinning her with his dark grey eyes, and she felt her cheeks go pink as they pointedly roamed down her.

He turned away to see their daughter before the redhead could think of anything to say, because her brain had apparently taken a leave of absence when within two feet of the tall handsome blond man. She watched as he crouched beside her bouncy seat, stroking an adoring finger over her cheek, seeing her daughter's little blonde lashes flutter.

"Hello," Scorpius said softly, and was relieved that Helena didn't instantly start screaming. Instead she looked up at him and smiled a tiny little mischievous grin. "How are you, my sunshine?" he murmured. Helena licked her lips and made a little moue with her rosy mouth. "Were you dreaming?" he asked, even softer, because she kicked her legs and then smiled again. He smiled back and she gurgled her approval, then her gaze moved up as he felt Lily come up behind him.

"You can pick her up if you want. She's apparently all smiles for you." Scorpius could hear the tiniest hint of irritation behind the light tone at that, and his smile faded. Was that because he was a stranger to Helena? Was she always so pleasant for people who weren't familiar? Had his worst fear been realized and he'd, undoubtedly, become a stranger to his own flesh and blood!? "Rose is going to be pissed. Helena always yells at her for being woken up. Actually, she sort of yells at anyone who wakes her up."

"Must be genetic," he replied, because the odd time he'd accidentally woken Lily, and she hadn't been able to go back to sleep, had been nightmarish. Scorpius instantly regretted the words once they were out of his mouth, but Lily just laughed.

"Yeah probably."

Scorpius picked his daughter up after unbuckling her from her little bouncy seat, surprised at her weight and the strength in the little body that instinctively tried to stand. "Whoa, she's gotten so big," he said, even though it had only been a couple weeks since he'd last seen her. He tried to hold back the urge to cry, because he could feel her tiny baby frame, bigger than he recalled and far larger than she'd started. It reminded him he was running out of time to make sure his daughter knew him, and that he loved her, and that she would always have him so long as he could draw breath.

He snuggled her close for a long moment, then shifted to sit on Lily's sofa, his daughter cradled in his arms. And it might have been hours, or possibly days, Scorpius wasn't sure, but he simply stared in silent wonder and admiration of his beautiful daughter, who was slowly becoming his spitting image, as she smiled and cooed and made adorable baby faces and sounds.

"There's another reason I came to see you," he admitted at last, and glanced up at Lily, who sat across the length of the sofa from him. Her face registered puzzlement. Scorpius firmly told himself not to pussy out, and swallowed, looking back at Helena, loving her entirely, and then at Lily, who completed him. He hated thinking he was choosing between them, but he had to try.

"What's that?" Lily asked, leaning toward him in anticipation. Scorpius glanced down at her luscious cleavage for a beat, then back to her hazel eyes.

"You said before," he managed to get out, and sucked in a fortifying breath. "You said if I went before the judge and gave you whatever you wanted, you'd…"  _Come on, Malfoy, be a fucking man_! "You said you'd let me prove to you that I love you. That I'm still in love with you, whether you feel the same or not." Lily stared at him, so Scorpius looked back at their daughter. "Do you still feel the same?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation, and Scorpius told himself not to read into that. "But," she qualified after a beat, and he glanced up to see her cheeks going red, "I should warn you that even if you go in front of the judge and throw yourself at my mercy, I might not be inclined to grant you any. And proving your words might wind up being impossible."

Scorpius steeled his severely flagging courage and nodded. "Duly noted," he said stiffly, but he could barely think after that. She was telling him, up front, it might be for naught.  _I have to try_. He noticed Helena making hungry movements in his arms, and then she let out a whine of impatience her lip smacking had been ignored. "I… I should probably go now," Scorpius said, and turned, meaning to hand the hungry infant back to her.

The redhead stared at him, looking for a moment like she was disappointed by that thought. That he would be leaving. "Oh, okay. See you," she said blandly, taking the baby back., schooling her features into polite indifference once more. But as she leaned in Scorpius, thinking with his foolish heart, and prick, leaned closer still and kissed her, full and gentle, on the mouth. He was forgetting he wasn't allowed to, and she would hate him for it, but even if he had recalled, it wouldn't matter, because he just wanted to taste her, and let her know he didn't much  _want_  to go without battering his bruised pride.

"See you," he said, and then, before Lily slapped him, or worse, he handed the baby back, and got up and moved quickly to her door and out of Lily's flat and her life again. Because that one taste hadn't been enough, not nearly, and he wanted her with a deeper, much more fierce hunger than ever.

Court was called to order and Lily felt just as nervous as she had the first time as the judge looked up from his paperwork, and said, even as silence fell in the courtroom, "Ah, looks like round two for Malfoy v. Potter. Well? Where are we at?"

Scorpius glanced across at Lily, just as she glanced across at him, even as the blond's lawyer cleared his throat. The redhead couldn't tell, by his expression, if they had solved anything or not. Certainly all the cards were on the table, but she wasn't at all sure she and Scorpius were in agreement about their daughter and her future. "My client and I have made significant progress, Your Honor, however the defendant isn't quite meeting us halfway." The judge lifted his brows at Ms. Gretzer, even as Lily frowned.

"Your Honor, I can assure you,  _all_ parties are making tremendous efforts for mediation to be successful."

"So no agreement has been reached as of yet?" the judge asked.

Lily gulped, and then Scorpius said, firmly and with dignity, "Actually, an agreement has been reached, Your Honor, outside mediation." Lily looked at Scorpius, feeling her heart threaten to choke her. She hadn't quite been fully serious the night before! "As the plaintiff, I fully endorse and accept whatever terms the defendant should set for my rights to the child in question, and any visitation she might deem appropriate, and withdraw any of my own terms from the claim for visitation rights."

There was a beat of silence, and then, from behind Lily, the sound of murmuring from the people seated in the courtroom. The judge banged his gavel, and Lily heard, quite scathingly from behind Scorpius, "Foolish, Scorpius, as always." Her brows drew together as the judge banged his gavel again, and called for quiet, and the redhead looked behind the tall blond, who still stood proudly, chin tilted up, for who might've made the comment. And Lily felt a jolt of surprise when she spotted, looking surly and disappointed in his son, none other than Draco Malfoy.

"And against legal counsel!" his lawyer cut in, glaring at his client.

"I take it you understand precisely what you're saying, correct?" the judge asked, looking at Scorpius thoughtfully.

"I do," Scorpius said firmly, and Lily bit her lip, even as his lawyer spluttered.

"Your Honor," he said, smiling, going instantly back into oily shark mode, "my client hasn't made any of these notions aware to me, and I don't believe he's quite in his right mind when he-"

"I'm perfectly in my right mind," Scorpius interjected. "And I know what I'm saying. She's her bloody mother, she gave Helena life. If she can't be trusted to decide what our daughter needs best, who the hell am I, or you, to be trusted with that decision?"

Lily felt tears welling in her eyes, her heart definitely choking her, and she hoped to God she wouldn't have to talk anytime soon, because she doubted she could. Because while she'd said, with the heat of truth, if Scorpius loved and trusted her as he claimed, he should know she'd make sure Helena got anything she needed in life, including visitation with her father, Lily felt intimidated now. That was kind of a lot to entrust a person with. But he'd done it. He'd dumped the decision firmly in her lap, and now she had to make it.

The judge glanced over at her, brows lifted. "And what does the defendant seek?" the judge asked lightly. Gretzer looked at Lily pointedly. The redhead blushed, knowing  _everyone_  was staring at her, and looked down at the tabletop, biting her lip. She had to say something.  _Anything_. But she was afraid. And even though she didn't want to, she looked at Scorpius for the tiniest second, meeting his steady, reassuring dark grey gaze, seeking the courage to follow her maternal instincts.

"I…" she said softly, then swallowed thickly, and tried again. "I think every weekend is fair. Twelve hours, both Saturday and Sunday, every week," Lily said firmly. He'd asked for that, and two days out of seven, which really only totalled one entire day, was certainly fair. At least for now. Maybe, as Helena grew older, that would change, but Lily could be away from her daughter twelve hours twice a week for now.

The judge's brows shot up again, and now he looked distinctly surprised. Lily licked her lips nervously, but was glad her lawyer didn't speak, and no one in the public area murmured either. "Well then," he said, and smiled, looking much less intimidating for an instant, and reminding Lily of her grandad. "It appears mediation was just the thing you two needed to see reason. Excellent." He glanced at his papers again. "And how old is the child in question now?" he asked, looking at Lily, but it was Scorpius who answered.

"She'll be five months in two days."

"I see," the judge said, and looked thoughtful again. Lily held her breath as he opened his mouth to give what appeared to be his final verdict. "Then the courts declare, in the case of Malfoy v. Potter, custody suit, primary custody is awarded to Miss Lily Potter, with equal parental rights and visitation granted to Mr. Scorpius Malfoy. Visitation will be set for every weekend, from the hours of eight am to eight pm, with one weekend a month the reverse, eight pm to eight am. Are the parties in agreement of this verdict?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Scorpius said, because his lawyer looked grumpy as all hell.

"Yes, Your Honor," Lily echoed, because even though her courage was rapidly fading, replaced with anxiety and fear over her very generous decision that now seemed  _too_  generous, she had to say something.

"Then case closed and court dismissed for lunch." The judge banged his gavel and stood up from his bench, and Lily had to sit down in the chair, because she was dizzy and felt weak.

She half expected Scorpius to come over, and maybe kiss her again, but instead, her lawyer patted her on the shoulder, commending her on her poise, and Rose came up to the little divider, looking shocked. "What the hell just happened?" she whispered, blue eyes bulging.

"I'm not really sure," Lily replied, and glanced over at Scorpius, who was pushing past his lawyer, his very formidable father talking in a low voice, looking thunderous, into his ear. Scorpius looked grim, and Lily blew out a breath.

"It's not a bad thing, honey," Rose said gently. "You deserve the breaks, and he deserves time with her too."

Lily nodded, wanting nothing more than to go home to her baby. "Sure," she said easily. "I want to go home."

Rose nodded. "C'mon, let's go." And as Lily came around the little divider thing, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. She wouldn't have to attend mediation or court anymore, with Scorpius, and that could only mean she'd be able to get on with her life, like Rose had been not so subtly hinting she should try doing. And she would.  _Except now you get to see Scorpius twice every weekend when he picks up and drops off Helena_. Shit.

XXX


	22. Issues

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Twenty Two - Issues

Lily glanced at the microwave clock in her kitchen, drumming her fingernails on the counter top, waiting for a knock on her door, noting that it was eight oh four. Which meant Scorpius was late.  _Again_. And the redhead didn't like the frequency with which that seemed to be happening. She'd spent the last hour cleaning and trying not to think about how much she missed her baby bean, to little avail. And although it was the third weekend Helena had gone to stay with her father, Lily still wasn't used to it.

At last, the knock she'd been waiting on eggshells for came at her door and Lily all but ran to answer it. She wrenched her front door open, anxiety filling her up, because she could hear crying from the other side before she got there, and Helena sounded distinctly hungry. Scorpius stood there, carseat in hand, looking exhausted. "You're late," she snapped, all but ripping her infant from his grasp.

"I know," Scorpius sighed as Lily set the carseat down and took her grouchy daughter from it. She felt her temper building, even as Scorpius stepped into her flat and set down the diaper bag, closing the door behind himself.

"She's about to burst out of her diaper," Lily said, even as she carried her baby over to change her, feeling nettled that Scorpius, quite obviously, wasn't meeting the impossibly high standards she'd set. "I know you're hungry, pumpkin, it's coming, I promise," she murmured to the baby, shooting Scorpius a dirty look. "Why is it every time you bring her back,  _late_  mind you, she's starving and soaked?" the redhead snapped, efficiently stripping Helena's slightly damp little pants and undoing the soiled nappy.

Scorpius scowled. "Because I'm usually trying not to be late, and she  _always_  wants to eat right as we're ready to leave." Lily forced herself to take a deep breath, because that wasn't Scorpius's fault. She knew for a fact, Helena usually got insatiably hungry between seven thirty and eight thirty, which seemed to be her cluster feed before her bedtime. "And then we have to sit in traffic for longer than Helena likes, and it's pretty much just a giant clusterfuck of a time."

Scorpius didn't add that he hated it. He hated bringing his daughter back to her mother, whom he was positive she missed atrociously any time he took her, if the fussiness was any indicator, and knowing he could take another desperate mental picture of the love of his life who wanted nothing to do with him, and absolutely nothing else. He also didn't add it was pretty fucking unfair he was subjected to driving halfway across town any time he wanted to see his daughter, but that had been part of Lily's negotiation. If he wanted equal rights, he would have to make the effort. Even if Helena always came back to her hungry and wet. But most of all, Scorpius didn't mention to his baby mama that he wasn't bloody perfect, and despite what he'd said in mediation, he hadn't gotten a nanny. Instead, he'd taken a desk job, a boring position that was a slight demotion but came with a bunch more money and weekends and evenings off. And he spent every weekend with his daughter and took care of her single-handedly, to the best of his ability, and it grated on him, just the tiniest bit, that Lily sat in judgement of him. He'd sacrificed his own ambitions, which had been easy in lieu of time with his baby girl, but not something he would have chosen without that incentive. But she didn't know, and probably wouldn't much care regardless.

"Still," she said grudgingly, bringing the infant, clean bum and all, to her breast, knowing, by the rooting, her bean was  _hungry_.

Scorpius shook his head a little, and then stepped toward her, pausing a respectable distance back, and kissed Helena atop her blonde head. "Goodbye, my sunshine," he murmured, because his daughter had, in only three too short visits, become the sunlight of his life. The thing to look forward to at the end of each week, the reason for sitting in boredom purgatory all day, and most of all, the only person he looked forward to seeing lately. At least, anyone he had any business looking forward to seeing.

Lily's mouth quirked a tiny bit. "Don't tell me you sing the song and everything," she teased, and Scorpius felt something in his heart region stirring back to life. Something he'd tried to repress.

"Of course," he replied automatically. Why shouldn't he?

Lily's brows shot up. "Oh," she said softly, looking properly chastised now, then turned away. "Well, I should be getting on feeding the baby," she mumbled, and Scorpius turned away, his heart breaking impossibly more.

"Alright," he said, more to himself than Lily, and reached for the door knob. "See you next weekend."

"Does she like you singing to her?" Lily asked curiously, and when Scorpius glanced back over his shoulder, he saw her facing him, looking a little confused. And his eyes, despite his best intentions, dropped to see Helena happily feeding from her mother, Lily's modesty preserved by her baggy shirt and the little blonde head. He quickly forced his gaze back up, focusing on the question.

Scorpius couldn't help but grin, because sometimes it was the only thing she wanted from him, after eating and wanting to sleep. "For the most part."

"Huh," Lily said with a pretty little frown, looking down at the baby.

"What?" Scorpius asked, although he knew it was none of his business.

Hazel eyes flicked back up to meet him and Lily smiled ruefully, making Scorpius's heart ache. "She doesn't like when  _I_  try to sing to her."

The blond man privately thought he could see where Helena was coming from. Because although he wouldn't win Grammy awards, Lily's singing was pretty much awful. "It's just the one song," he admitted. Because anything else wasn't up to snuff, but Helena always liked 'You Are My Sunshine'.

"Maybe I'll try it," she mumbled, turning away again, and Scorpius told himself not to reply back.

It was a close thing, because the blond man wanted to shout, instantly,  _NO_! That was his thing with his daughter, the one thing that made him feel connected to her, and he would hate to admit it, but Scorpius was too damn selfish to want to share the one thing he had over her in parenting. But instead, he said nothing, and opened the door to head out of Lily's little flat and life yet again, already counting the days until he'd see Helena again.

"Wait," Lily said before he shut the door behind himself, and Scorpius glanced back again, standing just outside her apartment. "Um," she blushed, "this is going to sound awful, but I figured you should get first crack, um, if you're free obviously." She bit her lip, pausing, and blond brows lifted silently, urging her to continue her stuttering thought. "Um, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to watch Helena for me, on Wednesday evening. Only for a few hours, but I figured you wouldn't mind so long as-"

Lily broke off abruptly, face going bright red, feeling like an absolute idiot, because she'd just gone and stuck both feet firmly in her mouth. Not to mention, it was not the kindest of thoughts. That Scorpius wouldn't mind if it was a couple hours or a night, so long as he got to see her outside his allotted visitation. But she certainly did  _not_  want to talk about the custody agreement they'd settled on.

Scorpius seemed to know precisely what she'd been about to say, because his brows lifted even more. "What time?" he asked, and Lily felt faint with relief he wasn't going to confront her on her big stupid mouth.

"I was thinking five until eight, um, if that works for you. But if not, I can try to rearrange my-"

"No, that's fine for me," Scorpius said. And although he was tempted to ask what she could be possibly doing from five in the evening until eight at night, he refrained, because it was firmly under the category of 'None of His Fucking Business'. He could dip out of work early, because it wasn't precisely necessary for him to stay all the way until five, but he generally started early so he could leave early regardless. "I can pick Helena up right after work," he said, allowing himself a ray of hope. Hope there might be more than just weekends with the one love of his life who wanted anything to do with him, because the other part of his heart didn't bother hoping anymore.

"Oh," Lily said softly. "I kind of figured you could just come here to watch her. No need to shuttle all that way for so little time," the redhead said, and smiled tentatively. Scorpius took it as an olive branch for her previous insult.

"Oh," he repeated, a little taken aback by that, and glanced round at Lily's flat, not for the first time, but with new eyes. "Yeah, sure," he said after a beat, because time with his daughter, no matter the location, was  _always_  wanted.

"Great," Lily said brightly, and smiled properly at him, and Scorpius had to look away, because the urge to kiss her was almost painful. But he was willing to bet the aftermath of giving in to the urge would hurt far worse. "And thanks," she added. Scorpius nodded mutely, peeking back up at her, then turned away at last, burning the image of her, feeding the baby, her smile soft and radiant with thanks into his mind and memory. And it was so close to his favourite of her expressions he had to bite back unmanly tears, even as he hurried half blind down the stairs.

Wednesday at four fifty eight, Scorpius hesitated for the tiniest second before squaring his shoulders and knocking on Lily's door. Within, Lily was in her living room, trying not to panic, because she was nervous and felt edgy, even as she unlocked and opened her front door. "Hi," she said with a nervous attempt at a smile, stomach feeling dodgy. Scorpius merely stood there staring at her, and Lily felt her anxiety peak. "What?" she demanded desperately.

"Nothing," Scorpius replied honestly, blinking. He was tempted to pinch himself or rub his eyes, because unless he was hallucinating, Lily was dressed up. Dressed up as though she were going out somewhere adulty. And right on the heels of that thought-  _Is she going on a date_!? Because the little black dress definitely looked just like the one he'd seen her wearing a little over a year ago, on her thirtieth birthday, and she'd put on lipstick, and her hair was all nicely tamed waves. And she looked bloody fantastic and smelled downright edible to Scorpius.

Lily pulled a face, nose scrunching adorably. "I look ridiculous. I knew it. Oh God, I am going to  _kill_  Rose!" the redhead grumbled, even as she let Scorpius in properly and moved to grab her purse. The blond watched her push both hands through her hair, ruining whatever careful style she'd attempted, and yet Scorpius found it looked even better all finger tousled and wild. "Sorry. I'm nervous," she said on a sigh and squared her shoulders. "Thanks for watching Helena," she added as Scorpius moved in and scooped his daughter up, kissing both her cheeks, making the bright eyed baby giggle.

"My pleasure," Scorpius said, unable to help but smile at his daughter.

Lily came over, snuggling the infant and kissing her cheek, leaving a faint lipstick impression of her lips. "Emergency numbers are on the fridge, along with my cell phone number. Call me for  _anything_." Scorpius felt his breathing hitch at her proximity, and when he glanced down at her, he was looking right down into the tempting swells of her cleavage as she tried to wipe Helena's cheek free of lipstick. She smelled better than edible, he reckoned.

"I will," he said roughly, trying to rein in his damnable libido, which cranked into overdrive having Lily almost touching him. He'd seen her plenty in the last few weeks, but that didn't mean he'd made any progress in somehow not loving her, and wanting her, and fantasizing about her exclusively. Hell, he hadn't even been with another woman since Lily, and now that she was so close, her warm breath ghosting over his chest, perfume tickling his nose pleasantly, and enticing curves close enough he could feel the warmth of her, he was going mad. "Have fun," he said, trying not to think about, with limited success, what her body would look like if he stripped off her little dress.

Lily frowned at that, because if that wasn't a dismissal, she was a muffin. And she doubted she'd have any fun at all that night. "Okay," she sighed, trying to pep talk herself, and gave Helena one last kiss, then tried to wipe off the lipstick again. "She's going to want to eat soon, just a head's up. She had a late nap."

"I've got it, Lily," Scorpius said, a tad defensively, and Lily forced a smile.

"Alright then, I'm off. Bye. And seriously, call if you think  _anything_  seems out of the norm, because I swear, she might be getting a cold, and I'm paranoid about fevers, so-"

" _Lily_ ," he said, but smiled a tiny bit. "You're rambling. Go."

The redhead sighed, blew a last kiss to Helena, and headed out on her damned date. The date he had no interest in whatsoever, and the date she'd been dreading ever since her cousin Rose had told her she'd set her up for it. Lily didn't want to go on a blind date with someone she would probably have absolutely nothing in common with, because she was a single mother who stayed at home with her not-quite six month old and worked from home to do so. And there was the added benefit of Rose mentioning, when she'd met the redhead's blind date, he was 'really handsome', which only made her more nervous, because she'd had to put on Spanx to squeeze back into anything date worthy.

She got to Rose's, where her date was set to pick her up, and the auburn haired woman rolled her eyes upon opening her front door. "Your hair's a mess," Rose sighed, even as Lily pushed past her, inside.

"I don't care," Lily snapped. "This is stupid, Rose, I don't want to go on a bloody date!"

"I don't care," Rose shot back, fiercely. "You need to get on with your life, honey. I've seen you, when you think no one's looking. You still think about him, don't you?"

Lily scowled. "Of course I do! I was in love with him and we have a baby together, Rose. Of course I think about him!" She pointedly didn't add it also was because she was still half in love with him, or at least the side of him she knew existed, where he was part of a family with her.

"Obviously," Rose sighed. "But come on, you can't just live forever not seeing anyone else ever. You deserve to be loved, honey."

Lily pouted, because she only wanted to be loved by the one person who'd shattered her trust in his love. "Still. I don't want to do this."

Rose pulled a face. "I suppose I could cover for you if you  _really_  want to bail," she finally sighed, and Lily felt a blast of hope. Just then there was a knock at Rose's door, and the blue eyed woman grinned. "Oops, too late. He's here."

"I hate you," Lily hissed, even as her cousin went to answer her front door again. Lily bit her lip, wishing she'd just fixed her damn hair, instead of throwing a tantrum. This could be a good thing. She'd get out, get Rose off her back, and cross 'start dating' off whatever checklist Rose had that certified Lily was okay, and be back in time to put her bean to bed.  _It'll be fine. Totally, one hundred percent fine, no worries_!

She felt her nerves spike as a deep voice said hello to Rose, and then a tall, dark haired, olive-toned man, with a very white smile and light blue eyes, looked at her and said, "Hello. You must be Lily. I'm Ethan. Rose has told me lots about you."

For a beat, Lily felt like a deer in the headlights, because he was bloody handsome, and then she said, with a bright smile, "Hi. Nice to meet you. Rose hasn't told me a thing about you."

Ethan O'Donnell smiled wider at her. "Then I suppose it's a good thing I made dinner reservations instead of getting theatre tickets. Ask whatever you like."

Lily felt her smile turn genuine and as he held out his arm in a slightly old fashioned gesture, she took it, glancing at Rose as they left for dinner. "Have fun!" her cousin trilled, and waved before the door closed and Lily was on her way, with a stranger, to dinner.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was lying flat on his stomach as his daughter lay facing him, her little body stretched the other way on her playmat, and they regarded one another while Scorpius carried the conversation and Helena pushed up and made faces at him, kicking her little legs.

"Anyway, enough about me. Tell me all the dirt on Mummy. Has she gone on a date?" Helena smiled. "Oh really. I don't suppose you know with whom, do you?" The baby made a possible poo face. "Hmm. I see. I bet Aunty Rose knows, though," Scorpius said and Helena gurgled.

"Da," she said, and Scorpius grinned.

"Yes, I'm Dada. Da _da_."

"Ahh, da," Helena said and the blonde grinned, then shifted to kiss her.

"Are you saying you're all done with tummy time?" Scorpius teased, and Helena smiled and promptly tooted. "Well then." The blond felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, and pulled it out, glancing at the display. It was Albus. "Excuse me, darling," he said politely to Helena, and she kicked her legs, farting some more. "And excuse you too, little miss."

"Da, da!" Helena said, and sighed.

"You bet, my sunshine. Dada. Hello?" he said, finally picking up on the third buzz.

"What are you doing right now?" his best mate demanded.

Scorpius frowned, and then Helena face planted as her little arms gave out as she tried scooting forward and the blond couldn't resist smiling, even as she pushed herself right back up. "Spending time with the prettiest girl I know. Why do you ask?"

"What? Who?" Albus demanded. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Your niece, you dolt."

There was a brief pause. "I'm assuming you mean the one you fathered, yeah?" Albus said, and Scorpius snorted.

"Obviously."

"Well, wouldn't you  _rather_  be a good best friend, get a sitter, and come with me on a double date? I met this amazing woman, and she said she'll only go out with me if I bring a friend for her sister. Her  _twin_  sister.  _Twins_ , Scorpius!"

"Not interested," Scorpius said, because even if he wasn't the babysitter, he had no desire to go on a date with another woman. But, Scorpius had to admit, if he could get his best friend twins, they'd definitely be square after he'd had his filthy way, thoroughly and frequently, with Albus's little sister. "But I'll tell you what," he added, even as Albus scoffed with outrage. "I'll do that favour for you tomorrow night."

There was a beat of silence. "I can wait that long," Albus said at last, and then, as though he'd just thought about it, asked slowly, "Wait, why are you with my niece. It's not-"

"Lily went out, and asked if I wanted to watch the baby."

There was a moment of silence. "Out where?" Albus finally asked. Scorpius couldn't resist the sigh.

"I have no idea." He didn't voice his opinion it was a date. That wasn't fair. For all he knew, she was just going out for a fancy dinner with her cousin.  _Although she did say she was nervous_. Which  _could_  mean-

"Weird. But that's good. You get to see Helena."

"It's great." Scorpius grinned as he said it, watching his daughter attempt to scoot forward again, face planting yet again. He picked her up and then settled her sitting up, facing him while he held her, because he was far too paranoid not to, and she smiled back at him, waving her little arms. Helena was the spitting image of him, or would be, because her light hair, just barely long enough to be considered more than fuzz still, was blonde and soft, and definitely pin straight. And her lightest blue eyes were going silvery grey more every time Scorpius saw her. "She's pretty awesome, your niece, and definitely worth spending time with over you. After all, she's far more lovable than you."

"Great. Tomorrow, or else you're going to owe me," Albus said, and Scorpius almost laughed, because he could tell his friend was done with the phone call now that feelings had been brought into it.

"Goodbye, Potter," he said dryly, and Albus laughed before hanging upon him. "Prick," Scorpius muttered, putting his phone away, then glanced at his daughter. "I meant jerk. Your Uncle Al is a jerk."

Helena started smacking her lips together, and even though she was smiling, Scorpius suspected her good mood would turn to hunger pretty soon. He looked in the fridge, found a bottle ready to go with a little sticky note attached that said 'Use First!' and felt a little lurch in his chest that may have been his heart trying to resuscitate itself enough to love Lily wholly again. Because although it was a little thoughtful gesture, to Scorpius, it meant a lot.

"Are you getting hungry now, my sunshine?" Scorpius asked, kissing both her cheeks, then her forehead, not feeling any sign of fever, and picked the solid little baby girl up and carried her over to the couch to feed her, burp cloth at the ready. "Do you want it cold?" he asked, teasingly, and offered the bottle that had yet to be warmed. When she took the chilled bottle, he chuckled in surprise. "No, I'm not so sure Mum would like that. Let me warm it up for you."

Helena made a noise of displeasure at her bottle being taken away, but Scorpius popped it into the warmer thing, doing precisely what he did at home to warm bottles, adding a little water, and clicking it on to warm the milk. "Ah!" Helena shouted and Scorpius rocked her easily.

"Yes, it's coming, I promise. We just have to make it warm, because cold milk, in your case, probably isn't as good as warm. You know, like how Mum makes it," he said, unable to help but think about Lily breasts, all soft and luscious and full.

After her bottle, Helena got sleepy, so Scorpius put her down to bed and paced around Lily's little flat, feeling restless. He was unable to stop his brain from wondering whether or not the woman he was in love with was out on a date or not, and kept telling himself it was selfish and petty to call her home, because there was nothing at all wrong. At least, with Helena. As for himself, Scorpius couldn't help but think about all the very wrong things that Lily going on a date entailed for him, personally.

Because if Lily was out on a date, that, obviously, meant she didn't love him like she'd once told him she did. And that meant he was loving a woman who would probably never feel the same. Which meant he was doomed, unless he could force her out of his brain and heart, to be alone and lonely, pining after Lily, forever, with nothing but their daughter to hold her in his life. And, he knew, as Helena grew older, he'd lose what little relationship he had with Lily. Because there would undoubtedly come a time when she'd move on, permanently, from him. With someone else.

His heart threatened to shatter into dust, because the pieces were so tiny he didn't know if they could break smaller, at that thought. Lily, with some other lucky bastard who couldn't possibly love her as wholly and completely as he did. Lily  _happy_  with that faceless other man that wasn't him. Scorpius felt like being sick just thinking it, unable to bear the thought he'd put everything on the line for naught. He paced from her kitchen to her bathroom, around her coffee table, and back again. And just when he felt as though he might go mad, unable to shut off his stupid brain from inserting one awful future scenario after another in his mind's eye, the front door to Lily's flat opened and Lily staggered in.

Two things immediately became apparent to Scorpius. Lily had been drinking, definitely, and might even be drunk, Lord help him, and he knew, without a doubt, he had to tell her he needed her. He couldn't stomach even  _thinking_  of his life without her forever. And if she wanted to reject him, he had to hear it, flat out, and then rip the bandage off his heart, hoping it would heal on its own without her. "Lily," he said, standing in her kitchen, facing her, as she locked the door behind herself, and smiled at him.

"Hi," she said, and covered her mouth with a hand as she giggled.  _Yeah, definitely drunk_. Scorpius bit back the urge to sigh. "How's Helena?"

"Sleeping," Scorpius replied, watching Lily with rapt fascination as she wriggled free of her coat and bent forward to undo the straps on her heels. She tottered a little, threatening to lose her balance, then righted herself. "Did you have fun?" he asked stiffly, because he was willing to bet the answer was yes.

Lily bit her lip, trying to hold back the giggle Scorpius's question evoked, because she  _had_  had fun. Which was saying a lot, because she'd gone into her forced blind date certain it would be awful. But she'd actually had quite a good time. Ethan had turned out to be a great listener, even though she was positive she talked far too much about Helena on the drive to the restaurant. And when she'd finally remembered she was supposed to be getting to know  _him_ , because Rose had already told him enough about her and her new baby, Lily found Ethan to be not only funny, but sweet, and charismatic, and entirely appealing. "Yeah," she finally said, unable to smother her smile.

"I can tell," Scorpius said, with the tiniest hint of derision that rubbed her slightly tipsy temper the wrong way. Her dark red eyebrows pulled together. "How many drinks did you have?" the blond asked, folding his arms loosely, looking formidable in his own right. Her hazel gaze roved over him, the tight lines of his mouth and forbidding line of his blond brows, the dark, assessing grey eyes, then lower, to his powerful shoulders and broad chest, swathed in a light pearl grey shirt that complimented his eyes, paired with her favourite black Calvin Klein suit that fit him like a glove. There was no denying, that while she'd genuinely liked Ethan, and enjoyed her date with him, he had  _nothing_ on Scorpius's sex appeal.

"I had  _a_  glass of wine with dinner," she said, certain she sounded defensive. Because it had been a rather large glass.  _And it kept being refilled somehow_ … But still.

"A glass?" Scorpius pushed, lifting a blond eyebrow, looking politely skeptical. "If you say so," he said, and forced a shrug, looking tense and like he was tempted to ask her if she'd been on a date. "I suppose I'll go, then." He made to brush by her, and Lily, feeling suddenly more than just a little tipsy, bit her lip, reaching out to grasp his arm to stop him leaving.

"Wait," Lily said, voice sounding too loud in her quiet flat. Scorpius froze, looking at her hand on his arm, and she pulled it back, hating that she instantly missed the feeling of touching him. "I…" She looked down. "I might have had more than just a glass," she said quickly. "It might have been a couple. Or maybe a few. I'm not really sure. It was a big glass, and it never seemed to get empty. I dunno, I was talking, and eating, and I just kept drinking, so I think it's probably best you stay, just in case I'm not, y'know, entirely sober." Scorpius just stared back at her levelly, and Lily's stupid, half drunk mouth started rambling again. "Because there's a damn good chance Helena's going to wake up before the night is out, and I'm actually not at all sure I'm at all sober, and I think it would be more than just a little irresponsible of you to just up and leave, y'know."

Scorpius smiled the tiniest bit. "Oh really?" he said.

"Yeah," she said, glaring a little. She hadn't stuttered there, had she?

"So you're asking me to stay over?" he clarified.

Lily pouted, because he was being a smart ass, and clever, and she did.  _Hell, maybe he'd even be up for a little drunk sex. I mean, it's been an awfully long time, and that thing he does with his tongue while- NO_! She frowned at her filthy thought train. "Only until I sober up," she said.

Scorpius regarded her for a long moment, then tilted his head to the side a little, looking as if he would decline. But then, to her surprise, the tall blond replied, "Sure." She grinned at that, unable to help but feel delighted he wanted to stay, if only to be the sober adult because they had Helena. And then Scorpius grinned back, making her heart inflate dangerously. That soft, sheepish sort of grin, that told her without words he'd spoken without thinking, and probably from the heart.

"You will?" she asked, hating that she sounded hopeful, hoping nonetheless.

"Of course. It would just be irresponsible of me to abandon my daughter to the care of her possibly intoxicated mother."

Lily laughed at that, and, before her more than tipsy, half-drunk, intoxicated self could stop, leaned forward, lifted onto her toes as she melted against Scorpius's warm, solid front, and kissed him.

XXX


	23. Praying

** The Baby Dilemma **

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Twenty Three - Praying

Scorpius didn't dare move, or even breathe, because he'd almost forgotten how perfectly Lily fit against him, and the exquisite softness of her lips, and the alluring scent of her perfume had him hard as a rock. And if she knew he was hard and horny for her after just a kiss, he'd surely make a fool of himself. She tasted like a nice Chardonnay and chocolate when her lips slanted to the side and parted for him, tongue swiping against his lower lip, and Scorpius was lost. He reacted without thought. He instinctively drew her long, lithe frame against himself, pushing his tongue into her mouth, groaning as she moved impossibly closer, arms looping around his neck with easy remembrance, her breasts crushed against his chest. And before he could stop himself, his hands were pulling her little dress up and the blond man was grabbing handfuls of her ass, lifting her against him completely.

"Scorpius," she panted, when their mouths finally parted, and he had her pressed against the door jamb to her bedroom. He didn't pause as he kissed down her neck, even as her hands went to his hair and and she moaned, low and needy, in the back of her throat for him. "Scorpius," she moaned and he couldn't resist biting her possessively.

"Yeah, Lily," he grunted, the all-consuming want he'd been feeling for her the last few months burning out of control. He felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut when she pushed him back firmly. "Please don't tell me to stop," he groaned, because he couldn't think what else she would say. Before she could speak, he kissed her again, filling the passionate snog with all the things he couldn't put into words, like how he wasn't even whole without her, and how badly he just fucking  _needed her_ , and how every day without her in it seemed like the very worst sort of torture.

"I don't want you to stop," she panted when he at last broke away, her clumsy fingers working on the buttons down his shirtfront. His heart soared. "I just want you to tell me you have a condom," she said, and Scorpius, if he hadn't felt like whooping, would've laughed.

"You bet, darling," he said roughly, and pulled her flush to him again, pressing her back into the door jamb, snogging her silly, even as he slid her knickers down. They barely made it to her bed, and Scorpius forgot entirely there was a baby literally in the same room, but when he laid Lily out at last, naked for his perusal, he could've cared less if his entire family was watching.

Her body was different than the last time he'd seen it without a scrap of clothing on and different still compared to her pre-baby body, and while he found himself missing the soft curves he remembered, Scorpius was eager to touch all of her, and learn her new shape. He kissed her again, after all but ripping his jacket and shirt off, and barely held back an expletive as he palmed her full, soft breasts, thumbing her nipples into aching peaks, even as he kissed down between the luscious swells. "You taste so good," he groaned softly, and loved the way Lily wriggled beneath him, fingernails biting into his shoulders, as he licked the succulent flesh along the underside of one breast. "So good," he repeated in a husky murmur.

"Yes," she hissed, and when Scorpius moved back up to kiss her, she fisted a hand in his hair, holding his mouth against hers. "I know this isn't supposed to be happening," she said in a ragged whisper, at last releasing him after biting his lower lip suggestively, "but fuck, Scorpius, I really want you right now." The blond needed nothing more, and pulled back to undo his pants, positive he'd never been as turned on by Lily as he was.

"The feeling is mutual, darling," he rumbled, and Lily felt her libido flaring, even as liquid desire pooled between her legs and beaded her hard nipples further. At last, Scorpius kicked free of his pants and boxer briefs and Lily licked her lips, reminding Scorpius forcibly of the last time he'd gotten the best blowjob of his life from her. She wrapped a silky hand around his prick, jerking him slowly, and he met her hazel eyes, pupils dilated with arousal, and one of his hands cupped her face lovingly, thumb smoothing over her pink cheek. "I love you," he said roughly, and kissed her again, feeling like a drowning man at last grasping a life preserver. He felt hope bursting free in his chest, and even if she hated him again the next morning, Scorpius knew, when she smiled softly up at him, he'd never regret telling her.

"Condom, Scorpius," she said huskily, and he whipped the prophylactic on hastily after fishing it out of his wallet. He parted her thighs, dipping his head to taste her briefly, loving her soft groans of anticipation, and then lined himself up with her molten heat as he moved over her fully. Lily lifted her arms over her head, wrapping her legs around him as he sank into her, unbearably close to coming, and said, "Now prove that you love me," in a rough whisper against his ear.

Scorpius wasn't sure he'd last, even as he set a slow, deep pace, his body remembering just what his redheaded lover liked best in bed. He licked and nipped her sensitive nipples, pressed his teeth into the soft flesh of her neck as she raked her nails up his back, and grunted as she whimpered, bucking and trying for more friction beneath him. "Scorpius," she panted, thighs holding him tighter. "Scorpius, please," she groaned.

He smirked a tiny bit and regarded the woman who completed him in every way adoringly, face a mask of innocence. "Yes, darling?" he rumbled. "Please what?" His thighs spread her wider, even as he moved a little faster, trying to stave off the urge to come.

"Please more," she gasped, eyes going wide, mouth parting as he obliged her. "Oh yes," she moaned, "yes,  _yes_!"

Scorpius felt his control waver and then crumble entirely as she clenched him from within, and he moved faster still, making love to her with a fervor that raged like a rain-swollen river. "Lily," he groaned, about to tell her he wasn't going to last as his orgasm spiralled away from him toward a dizzying peak.

"Scorpius!" she cried out, and then a loud moan was wrenched from her and Scorpius at last lost himself into ecstasy, the love of his life coming hard and loud beneath him. He came to, panting and sated, and withdrew, even as Lily groaned and her eyelids fluttered. "Wow," she mumbled as he discarded the used condom, and he watched her roll over to face him properly.

Scorpius was grinning like a fool, because that had been phenomenal in his opinion, and she'd taken the word right out of his mouth. "Was that proof enough for you?" he asked, even as Lily snuggled into her pillow, breathing evening out.

"Yes," she said sleepily. "Even if you still owe me my raincheck," she added, and yawned. "I'm tired now," she said dreamily.

"Go to sleep, darling," Scorpius said, sliding out of her bed, pulling the covers up over her naked form, tucking her in gently.

"Don't go," Lily said, head lifting from her pillow, eyes blinking open. "I still have to prove that I love you. I just need a little nap first."

"I'll be right here, Lily," he said softly, and brushed a kiss over her forehead. "I promise. And you can prove whatever you like after your nap."

"Okay," she mumbled, and sighed, laying back down properly. She was unconscious in the next minute, the wine and phenomenal sex too heady a combination to fight. Scorpius looked down at her, soaking in the sight of her, rumpled hair all over the place, her lips kiss-swollen and free of lipstick once again, the soft curves of her tempting body beneath the covers. God, he loved her.

Then he heard a gurgle and glanced over to see Helena kicking her legs, rolling back and forth on her back, looking pleased as she regarded him. A blush erupted over the blond man's cheeks, even as a feeling of distinct mortification gripped him. Had his little baby daughter just watched him have his filthy way with her mother? Or, even worse, had they woken her with the sounds of their lovemaking? God he hoped not. He quickly pulled on his boxer briefs and pants, then put his arms through his shirt, moving to pick up the baby. "Hello, my sunshine," he said, and although Scorpius wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and fall asleep beside Lily, he instead left her bedroom, feeling like he'd been caught red handed doing something wrong as Helena patted his cheek.

"Da," she said softly and Scorpius smiled at her.

"I don't know, darling," he sighed heavily. Because now, in retrospect, he felt like a piece of shit. He'd just fucked his baby mama into next week, and while she'd admitted flat out she'd wanted him to, he felt like he'd taken advantage of her. She'd been drinking that night, after probably going out with someone else, and he, like a giant whore, had jumped into bed with her without a second thought. But now he couldn't help but wonder, hating his traitorous brain, if she'd only been so eager to get him horizontal because she'd been out with someone else. Someone else who'd gotten her primed and ready.

"Ahh, ba do," Helena said, even as he clicked on Lily's television, sitting Helena beside himself on the couch. Scorpius sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.  _Then again, she did say she loved you_. Well, she'd said she had to prove to him she loved him, which was an enticing thought to say the least, but Scorpius wasn't at all sure he was ready for that. Hell, even now, he was half-regretting taking Lily to bed. Sure, she'd wanted, and been eager enough, and he had been just as eager and willing, but now… Now it felt like yet another obstacle he'd created to stand in the way of true happiness.

The tall blond was all but certain Lily would, upon waking, loathe him for taking advantage of her and her luscious body. And he wouldn't fault her for it. He just didn't know if it had been a mistake. At the time it had felt all too right to kiss and touch and fuck Lily senseless. Now… Scorpius sighed again, and glanced over at his daughter as her gaze fixated on some brightly coloured, animated children's show. "What do you think, my sunshine?" he asked. "Do you think Mummy will hate me tomorrow?"

Helena didn't reply and Scorpius sighed, then pulled out his cell phone. To his surprise, he had a text from Rose Weasley, time stamped for a half hour ago, and another that was only minutes old. He opened the first one.

_Malfoy. I know things are kind of weird, between us, and we're not friends or anything, but I really need you to do me a favour. Tell that motherfucker you call your best mate Chris I hope he rots in fucking Hell for eternity, because he's a sorry excuse for a man and I fucking hate him_. Scorpius's brows shot up, because that was an awful lot of venom, and his mouth tilted into a pleased half smile, because he was willing to bet Chris had done something stupid regarding his quasi-relationship with Rose. And he hadn't even had to do any meddling for his friend to get a taste of what he'd been experiencing the last few months. Excellent.

Scorpius went to the next text, the one that was still less than ten minutes old, and although he had a feeling it would be more of the same, he almost felt bad for poor Chris. Because obviously Rose Weasley hath no fury like any other woman scorned.  _So, about that last text… I may have very slightly overreacted, but seriously, tell your friend to come get his stuff_. Scorpius's brows, if they could have shot up any further, would've flown right off his head, he was certain. He had  _not_  been expecting that. A calm rational sounding Rose Weasley? Scorpius knew that could only mean his friend had, undoubtedly, talked to her and she'd washed her hands of him for good.

Scorpius debated not replying, for a moment, but then sent a text back anyway, even if it made him petty. He reckoned he and Chris would be even now, at least.  _Consider it done. And if it's any consolation, Chris is really good at ruining the best things, so you shouldn't take it personally, Rose_.

The blond man spent the rest of his evening and night cuddling, then changing and feeding the baby, then putting her down to sleep for the night. He was unbearably aware of Lily lying in bed behind him, as he stood rocking Helena beside her cot, singing his song for her very softly as her little lashes fluttered and she yawned with growing frequency. At last he laid the baby down to sleep, just as her little eyes closed and her breathing evened out in the exact same way Lily's did.

Scorpius couldn't help but glance around, regarding Lily as she slept on obliviously, and sighed. He wanted nothing more than to slide into bed with her, but that, he was positive, would end horrifically. No, it was probably best to simply slip out now, because it was getting quite late, and he knew Helena would sleep through until the morning. And by then Lily would be sober and back to loathing the very ground he stood on, if not hungover to boot, and if he was present to be the target of her aggression, he doubted he'd come out alright.

So he picked up his jacket from the floor, moved to brush a tender hand over Lily's hairline, and kissed her lingeringly. "I love you," he said softly, repeating the same sentiment he'd just uttered to their daughter, and smiled a little as he pulled back. She was perfect, and he longed for her with an unbearable ache, and he knew then he couldn't ever love another. There would only ever be Lily, and even if she moved on, the memory of that night would be enough for him.  _It has to be_.

And then he slipped on his jacket, did up his shirt as he slipped out of Lily's flat, and went to go home to his empty condo, knowing he'd regret his decision to leave forever.

Lily felt herself waking slowly, a dream clinging to her consciousness, making her feel warm, and loved, and a little horny. She couldn't recall the details as she opened her eyes, but she definitely remembered it had been starring a handsome, tall, grey eyed blond, who'd said the most decadent things against her ear in a rough, sexy voice. "Scorpius?" she asked through a yawn, sitting up and glancing at the bed beside her.

The sheets were rumpled, but when she put a hand to them, they felt cool, as if they hadn't been slept in. Her brow furrowed, and she blushed, because the rumpling had surely happened when Scorpius had taken her to bed last night, after her date, when he'd been standing in her flat, looking tempting as sin and more delicious than chocolate.

And then, of course, like a twit, she'd fallen asleep after a fantastic shag, and slept right on through Helena's nighttime feeding. The redhead vaguely recalled Scorpius telling her he'd be there to feed the baby for her, and that he'd be there when she was done napping, if only so she could prove to him that she loved him. And yet her flat was silent, but for the ticking of her alarm clock and the soft gurgles and sighs of her baby across the room. Pain lanced through her, because if that wasn't a complete dismissal of her feelings for him, she didn't know what would be.

Of course, he'd told her last night he loved her, and she'd felt more alive than she'd liked to admit upon hearing it, heart soaring and inhibitions melting with those three half-whispered words.  _Or he just really wanted to get laid, and was grateful you fell into bed with him with zero encouragement_. Lily pushed that thought away. No, she refused to believe that. Scorpius wouldn't flat out lie to her like that, would he?  _Wouldn't be the first time, would it_? Lily shook her muddled head, getting up to get her baby and go to the bathroom. She was achy and sore, and her head was pounding, but Lily couldn't feel a dollop of regret about the previous night.

Even if it was just sex for her baby daddy, it was more than that to her. It had been a physical expression of her unshakeable love for him. A gesture of her desire to have him, all of him, whatever the cost. After she'd gotten Helena fed and changed and settled, gotten herself some coffee and breakfast, and then showered, Lily felt much more alive than she had upon waking. But a heavy weight had settled in her heart, because it became startlingly apparent that Scorpius had slunk out in the middle of the night. Which could only mean he either didn't want to see her prove she loved him in return, or he'd regretted what had taken place in her bed the night before.

She sighed, pushing thought of Scorpius and their more complicated than ever relationship, or lack thereof, to the back of her mind. Instead she called up Rose as she washed her pumping equipment and bottles from the day previous while Helena played with toys and the telly showed a dancing bear in the living room.

"Weasley," her cousin said, sounding distinctly down, upon picking up.

"Hey, girl, it's me," she said, and frowned as Rose sighed.

"Hey," Rose said. "How was last night?" Lily shut off the tap, because Rose sounded definitely down and not the least interested in how Lily's date had gone.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Rose said. "How was your date?" she pushed.

"You can find out when you tell me what's up, Rose," Lily said firmly, and heard her cousin sigh. "C'mon, you sound like you're still in bed, drowning your sorrows in ice cream."

Rose made a skeptical sound of amusement. "Not quite," she sighed. "Ugh, I'll be fine, I'm just having a pity party."

"Why?" Lily demanded.

"Because I'm an idiot," Rose grumbled. "Now tell me about your date."

"No," Lily said. "Spill, Weasley. You sound bloody depressed. Do you need a squishy fix?" The redhead could picture her cousin smiling grudgingly. "Just tell me, and I'll even tell you about what happened  _after_  the date," she added cajolingly.

"I dumped Chris," Rose sighed, and Lily's brows shot up. Last she'd heard, her cousin and Scorpius's friend had been having a blast, screwing one another, going out almost every night, and otherwise being thoroughly besotted with one another.

"What happened?" she asked softly, turning to peek in at her daughter, who was on her stomach, grunting and wriggling like mad, trying to get enough forward momentum to grasp her favourite plush rattle.

Rose blew out a breath heavily. "So we had plans to do dinner, then we were going to go back to his place. Y'know, for dessert." Lily's nose scrunched in distaste "And then Chris called last minute to bail. Said he had to work late." Rose sighed again. "Which was whatever, it's not like he hadn't done it before, right? So I said it was no problem, and he said if I wanted, to swing by his place for eight thirty. So we could still do dessert."

Lily had a bad feeling she knew precisely where this was headed, and braced herself. "And?" she prompted when Rose fell silent.

"Well I may have been a smidge early for our dessert date," Rose admitted, and Lily was willing to bet that had been on purpose. She knew her cousin was a little paranoid, and  _everyone_  knew Chris wasn't exactly known for being faithful. "So I was waiting in my car in the parking lot, and I saw him walk another woman to her car." There was a beat of silence, and right when Lily was about to point out that wasn't particularly damning, Rose sighed again. "And I know you're going to say 'so what?', but trust me, Lily, there was  _no way_  he was working late with this woman."

"So what happened, then?" Lily asked.

"She practically shoved him up against her car and they were halfway to doing it, so I went home. And of course, when he called later, I flipped out, saying lots of things, but mostly that I wasn't an idiot, and if he wanted to screw around, he could do it as a single bastard."

"What did he say?" Lily asked. Because sure, Chris was a manwhore, and a jerk, but she couldn't picture him so blatantly cheating on her cousin.

"He said I was overreacting, and he wasn't screwing around, obviously, but if you'd seen them, you'd know there was no way he hadn't just screwed the dumb bitch's brains out beforehand." Rose sighed again. "Anyway, suffice to say I'm over it, and back to being single. Which sucks, but I'm good, I promise. No depression for this bitch."

Lily felt awful for Rose, especially as she herself had had a fantastic night. "That sucks, I'm sorry, Rose," she said earnestly. "Do you want me and Helena to come by?"

"How about I come there, and I'll bring lunch, and you can dish about your date with Hottie McHotterson. Deal?"

"Deal," Lily said, and rang off, moving to pick up Helena for a quick bath before Rose's visit, and felt a jolt of pride when Helena, who'd been trying with admirable determination, finally scooted forward enough to grasp her toy, and then rolled onto her back, grinning. "You did it!" she gushed, scooping the baby up and hefting her onto a hip, and Helena laughed, bright silvery eyes crinkling as she shook her plush rattle happily. "Great job, baby girl!" Lily said, kissing her.

"Da!" Helena said joyously, and Lily smiled wider.

"Of course we'll tell Daddy," she said, moving to the bathroom to run the tub. And indeed, she sent Scorpius a text, before she could second guess herself, and her pride and joy flowed easily into the words.

_Scorpius, just so you know, your daughter is going to start crawling any day now! I'm so excited I can barely stop smiling, but I can't wait for you to see it this weekend. She's growing so much and I still can't believe she's so amazing!_

Scorpius glanced down at the text that buzzed in just as he was starting to think about taking his lunch break. And, unbidden, a smile turned his mouth upward, and he looked with longing at the photo of newborn Helena that sat proudly on his desk. His thumbs replied without his brain making a conscious decision to reply.  _That's fantastic, and I look forward to seeing for myself. She's a clever girl, just like her Mum, and almost as amazing as her Mum too. Give her big hugs and kisses for me._

Lily didn't see the text until Helena was clean and swaddled in a towel, getting ready for her mid-morning feed if the fussiness was any indicator, halfway through the attempt to get a clean nappy on her. She felt her brows lift, even as she blushed, because that sounded, when he'd said 'almost as amazing as her Mum', distinctly complimentary. And like a freight train at full tilt, the realization she wouldn't ever be truly happy, no matter who she went on a date with, without Scorpius to come home to every night and wake up with every morning, hit her. And Lily knew in that moment, that even if she broke her heart completely, she had to try to fix her relationship with Scorpius.

Lily wanted her daughter to see, first hand, that with work, a relationship could thrive and grow, and with a leap of faith, love was attainable. And while she was scared, and hesitant, and entirely unsure, she also knew she deserved to be happy with the only man who'd ever made her completely so. The redhead stood stock still, still bowled over by her revelation, and Helena kicked her little legs on the change table, crying out hungrily, before Lily snapped back into herself. Sure, she might be risking her heart, but she wanted Scorpius with a fierce hunger, wanted him forever and exclusively, and if she had to lay her precariously glued heart on the line for him, she'd do it. He deserved that much, to hear how much he meant to her. And if he wasn't interested, she'd handle that. Because the other option promised a lifetime of happiness, and that was worth the risk, she reckoned. So Lily sent her baby daddy another message, after fastening Helena's diaper at last, and putting her in clean clothes.  _I think we need to talk. Meet me at Starbucks on Wellington tomorrow at four_.

When Rose arrived at last, bearing Chinese food that smelled heavenly to Lily, and looking decidedly down, Lily knew she wouldn't be able to keep her revelation a secret. Even as she smiled when Lily passed her the baby, trading her infant for food gratefully, the redhead knew the fourth degree was coming.

"So how did your date go?" Rose demanded, seeming determined not to talk about Chris anymore. Lily shrugged as she got two plates from the cupboard.

"It was fun," she said truthfully. "Ethan was really nice. I mean, I'm pretty sure I mostly talked about Helena, but he seemed genuinely interested. And he's really funny."

Rose looked pleased at her matchmaking skill. "And then?" she prompted as Lily dished herself out a large portion of vegetable egg noodles. "What happened after your date?"

Lily smiled just remembering. "I came home," she said truthfully. Rose pouted.

"Really?' she drawled. Lily nodded, adding some lemon chicken to her plate. "You made it seem like, on the phone, that you totally hooked-"

"I did," Lily interrupted, putting an egg roll on her plate. "Just not with Ethan," she said, after taking a bite of a second egg roll and moving to the table as Rose's mouth parted.

"Then who-!?" her cousin squealed.

"Scorpius," she sighed, and then Rose's smile faded. "What?"

"Oh no, honey," she sighed, and Lily frowned now.

"What?" she demanded.

"That was the whole point of going on the date!" Rose said, sounding exasperated, and equally so after her recent relationship upheaval. "You have to get over-"

Lily merely shook her head. "I can't," she said simply. "I love him. I'm in love with him. And I have no idea how to make myself stop, especially after last night." She swallowed her second mouthful. "So I'm going to tell him, and then it will be out there, and if he feels the same, then great. If not, I'll know I tried, and I can move on then."

Rose pulled a face, but Lily pasted on a brave smile. "If you say so," her cousin sighed.

"I do," Lily said firmly.

XXX


	24. Perfect Situation

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Chapter Twenty Four - Perfect Situation

Lily told herself she was being an idiot, even as she stood in her bra and underwear, a fourth outfit discarded, because she didn't like the way the shirt had enhanced her post baby belly that spilled over the top of her favourite jeans. And the only top she  _did_  like with those pants was so not worthy of meeting in public, at least not with Scorpius, because it had been stained by spit up along the neckline. Helena giggled and bounced in her Jolly Jumper that hung in the redhead's bedroom doorway, drooling excessively onto her bib, surely getting even more teeth.

"It's not very nice to laugh, y'know," she said, a tad grumpily, to the baby. Helena blew slobbery raspberries at her. "Rude," she grumbled, and pulled a dark grey cotton dress she wagered might just fit her again from her closet. Helena was already dressed to go out, in a soft, baby blue cardigan with sparkly hearts over her onesie, a pair of jeans that were adorably tiny, and a headband with a large white flower on it. That had been easy, getting the baby dressed. Lily loved dressing up her daughter, and had far too many outfits to choose from, but now she was wishing she had more time to find something good for herself.

_So stupid, it's not even a date_! Lily couldn't help it, though. It sure  _felt_  like a date, because she was going to meet up with Scorpius to talk about them falling into bed and having phenomenal sex together, and how badly she wanted to be with him. Preferably forever. She couldn't resist smiling at that thought. She was going to see Scorpius. Even though nervousness made her feel sick, and she wasn't at all sure she'd be able to say the words out loud, she couldn't deny, she was glad he'd sent her a text that morning affirming he'd be there to meet her.

She slid into the little dress and stared critically at her reflection in the mirror on the back of her closet door. It was snug, and gave the redhead dangerously close to slutty levels of cleavage, but she had to admit, it looked alright. Considering it had been at least a year since she'd last worn it and her body had changed drastically in that time. Hazel eyes flicked to the clock and Lily sighed. It would have to do. She was out of time to second guess herself anymore.

She got Helena out of her Jolly Jumper and settled into her pram, grabbed her purse and diaper bag, and headed out at last. A couple old ladies commented how cute her baby was on the bus, making Lily beam with pride, and when she finally disembarked and walked the last couple blocks to Starbucks, the late spring air a little muggy and making her hair frizz, Lily was almost certain she'd made the right choice. She pushed into the coffee shop a little before four, eyes darting around even as nausea roiled in her belly and nervousness assaulted her once more, but there was no sign of Scorpius.

Lily ordered herself a grande mocha, with a double shot of espresso and extra whip, and a black and white cookie, and moved to one of the little tables to wait, checking the time on her cell phone anxiously. Helena gurgled, kicking her feet and looking around with interest inside her pram, looking at the random passersby, and eyeing Lily's cookie when she ate it.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin, you can't have cookies yet. Just milk," she said softly, smiling down at her daughter, after she finished her snack. She took a drink of her coffee, glancing at the time on her cell again, noting it was now four oh one, so Scorpius was  _late_.

"She eats her gloopy baby cereal, too," said a deep voice from behind her. Lily almost choked on her swallow of mocha, and turned sharply, half cricking her neck to look up at the tall, devastatingly handsome face of Scorpius Malfoy.

"Hi," she said stupidly, then kicked herself mentally.  _Great response_! "And of course. I also kind of gave in and let her try some baby food the other day," Lily admitted, sighing.

Scorpius grinned as he moved to sit across from her at the little table, immediately reaching to unbuckle Helena from her pram to snuggle her. "And she loved it?" the blond guessed with a smirk. Lily nodded, feeling a tad put out. Because she'd told herself that Helena still needed her, obviously, but soon she probably wouldn't be breastfeeding anymore. She might still pump, sure, but already, Helena got impatient at the breast sometimes, wanting a bottle instead, and Lily couldn't help but give in.

She was hesitant to lose that special bond with her daughter now, though, and it was still part of Helena's bedtime routine, for Lily to feed her and get her full and sleepy, then put her down to bed with a kiss. And although the redhead hated it, she was afraid Scorpius might see that loss of her necessity in Helena's life as an invitation to seek more visitation through the same route he'd taken last time.

"She did," Lily confirmed. "And it was only sweet potatoes. Which I tried, and they were kind of weird."

Scorpius grinned and kissed his daughter's cheek. "Did you have sweet potatoes?" he cooed, and Helena grinned a blew some raspberries, splattering her father in drool. "Oh really? Because Mummy says you liked them." Lily felt her heart stutter at that. Hearing Scorpius talking to little Helena with such adoration, saying her title as though they were a proper family, gave her the courage to say the three words she'd tried to ignore since she'd kissed Scorpius, thoroughly, goodbye all those long months past. She opened her mouth to speak them, but then the handsome blond looked at her and said, "Thanks for bringing Helena."

"You're welcome," Lily said automatically, and actually face palmed at her own idiotic mouth. "I mean no problem," she said hastily. "She loves coming out, and now that the weather's smartened up, it's good to get the fresh air for her."

Scorpius kissed his daughter again, then set her back in the pram and began buckling her back in. "Then let's go for a walk," Scorpius said. Lily's brows pulled together, but she nodded, picking up her coffee and automatically reaching for the handle of her stroller. The tall blond beat her to it, turning the pram neatly and wheeling them toward the door. Lily lengthened her stride to keep up and then they were pushing out into the warm afternoon. "There's a park not too far from here," Scorpius said, and Lily nodded, walking beside him, trying to tell herself it would be better to tell Scorpius outside a public place that she loved him, on the off chance he burst out laughing at her admission.

"So," Lily puffed, trying to get the words out before her faltering courage left her entirely, "I just wanted to say, I, um, I…" She paused in her speech to suck in a breath and Scorpius stopped walking. Lily was sure her heart stopped with him.

"Am I going too fast? You can tell me to slow down," Scorpius said, and frowned ever so slightly. "Sorry, I forget that you were still pregnant less than a year ago."

The redhead glared, because that sounded like a political way of saying 'I forgot you were out of shape'. "I'm fine," she snapped. "I'm just trying to say something important, and it's kind of annoying trying to do it while walking," she said matter of factly and then almost bit her tongue out.

Scorpius lifted both eyebrows, dark grey eyes wide with surprise. "Oh," he said, and glanced at the baby, who was staring up at her parents, smiling contentedly.

"Um," Lily said, trying to cover her embarrassment valiantly, "I'm sorry, that was rude. But I mean, I-"

"No, it's fine, Scorpius interrupted, and sighed. "Sorry. Keep talking. You said it was important?" he prompted politely.

The redhead bit her lip, but her courage had failed her. She peeked up at Scorpius, to tell him it could wait, because it wasn't really that important, but the way he stared back, dark eyes so steady and patient, she couldn't help but love him impossibly more. "I love you," she said softly, in a barely audible whisper.

"What?" Scorpius said, face still patiently expectant. Lily licked her lips.

"I love you," she repeated, louder, feeling nervous enough to be sick, her heart beating surely too fast, her mouth dry and palms sweaty.

Scorpius merely stared and then said, quite evenly, "That is important."

Lily felt rejection flood her, her fragile heart certainly breaking again and sinking into her belly. "Yeah," she said sadly, blinking back tears, and started forward bravely toward the park again, forcing herself to repress her emotions, to be felt and dealt with later. Right now she was going to the park with Helena and her baby daddy, who obviously didn't love her back for real, and who obviously didn't care how she felt about him, and she could handle the rest later.

Scorpius was beside her in seconds, grasping her arm, pulling her against himself, and before she could even think properly, Lily felt his lips covering hers. Her eyes slid shut as she melted into his embrace, hating that she was so weak to him and that she was so greedy it was going to kill her. "Where the hell are you going?" Scorpius demanded between hungry, passionate kisses.

"I thought we were going to the park," Lily breathed stupidly when he pulled back again, her brain on autopilot after a very possessive and through snog. She put a hand vaguely to her hair, even though Scorpius had a hand tangled in her tresses.

"If you haven't realized I'm fucking miserable without you because I love you so fucking much it hurts, then I'm going to start questioning what I always thought was a smart brain in your head." Lily could only gape, heart stuttering back to life, rising up in her chest, feeling whole again. "I love you," Scorpius said roughly. "I'm in love with you," he added, and cupped her face in his palms, right there on the sidewalk. "You're the mother of my child and the only woman I've thought about for the last fourteen and a half months and if you don't believe it, I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions."

Lily couldn't resist the stupid, huge, absolutely goofy smile that spread over her face. Scorpius was still holding her against himself, one hand still cupping her face as the other drifted down to her waist once more, and she looked up at him, forgetting they were blocking the sidewalk and that a couple people were staring at them. And yet, despite her all consuming joy, Lily felt a sliver of doubt. "How do I trust you again?" she breathed. Scorpius's dark grey eyes blazed, and he drew a deep breath. They looked, in the same instant, at the baby in the pram, who was staring up at a tree now, and Scorpius held her tighter.

"You marry me," he said levelly, looking back at her as she turned to look back at him.

"What?" Lily said, heart stopping.

Scorpius kissed her, mouth quirking up in the same sexy, amused half smile that had done her in entirely on her birthday all those long months ago. "Marry me," he said again, then pulled back and dropped to one knee. Lily's whole face went red, because people had stopped now to watch them, and she couldn't believe what Scorpius was saying. "Will you?" he asked, looking uncertain, and then reached for her left hand. "I don't have the ring, but you'll get it, and anything else you want, Lily. You've already got my bloody heart."

Lily burst into tears, and her vision blurred with them as they dripped, fast and steady and scalding hot, down her face, even through her smile. Her heart felt lighter than air, and she'd never felt more complete. Because although she'd waited years for her baby, she'd never  _needed_  Helena the way she needed the little blonde girl's father. "Yes," she said softly, voice catching.

Scorpius stood up and pulled her close, even as the half dozen people who'd stopped to watch them started cheering and clapping. "And I'm going to spend the rest of our lives proving to you I love you," the blond breathed, and then kissed her, and Helena waved her little arms in celebration.

"You already have," Lily said when he pulled back. Scorpius gave her a wicked smirk.

"Not yet, darling," he rumbled. "You still have that raincheck, you know."

The redhead blushed almost as dark as her hair and rolled hazel eyes, unable to stop grinning. "Are we still going to the park?" she asked, finally reaching for the pram handle to start them forward once more, most of their little crowd having dispersed and her blush having subsided a tiny bit.

"If you want, darling," Scorpius said, walking beside her easily, one arm still around her waist as they strolled leisurely now. He gave her a significant sideways look. "Whatever you want, we'll do, Lily."

She smiled impossibly wider, facing aching. "Honestly?" she said, and glanced at Helena, "I think I'd love nothing more than to go back to your place, watch some telly, feed Helena lunch, and then put her down for a nap," Lily sighed. Scorpius smirked, squeezing her a little. "And after that," the redhead said lightly, "you can pay back my raincheck."

The next morning, Lily was up early, the silence of Scorpius's condo peaceful as she fed Helena breakfast in the kitchen, glancing vaguely over the paper. Scorpius was still asleep, and Lily was looking forward to crawling back in with him as soon as Helena was full again. The redhead had devised, through her half asleep brain, the very best way to ensure Scorpius owed her even more rainchecks, which he had paid back in full last night, and that was waking him up with a blowjob, so long as their daughter went back down for a bit. She felt Helena dozing off and eased her little mouth from her nipple, moving stealthily to the second bedroom to put the baby down. Just as she was passing the front door, however, there was a sharp knock, and Lily almost jumped out of her skin. And Helena woke up with a startled cry.

Cursing whoever might be at the door, Lily glared through the peephole. She wasn't wearing anything other than Scorpius's borrowed bathrobe, and knew she probably looked frightful, and who the bloody hell was calling at six thirty in the damn morning, anyway? It turned out to be a dark haired, blue eyed man, who looked equally dejected and pissed. He pushed a hand through his hair as Lily watched, then knocked again. "Ooh!" said a thoroughly awake Helena, and Lily felt her oh so clever plan to accumulate more debts of cunnilingus fall apart when a grouchy, mostly still sleeping Scorpius appeared.

"Who is it?" he asked in a rough voice that made Lily's nipples hard.

"Scorpius, open the door, you sod. I'm going to fucking murder you!" Chris called, knocking rather louder and for a third time.

"Chris," Lily said. The blond made a noise that was either amusement or resignation, then kissed Lily tenderly on the mouth, lips curving up.

"I was almost mad, because I woke up and thought you'd gone," he said softly.

Lily rolled her eyes, lifting onto her toes to extend the kiss a beat. "I'm still here," she said with a smile, and Scorpius reveled in it, because it was the goddess smile, the one that told him without words she loved him. "I'm not going anywhere again."

"Good," Scorpius rumbled, kissing her again, and then laughed when Helena, who had been transferred to a hip, patted his cheek.

"Da!" she said with delight.

"Good morning, my sunshine," he said, and kissed her too, on both chubby cheeks, and the baby giggled at the tickle from his stubble.

"Scorpius, you fucker, I can hear you in there, open up!" Chris said from the other side of the door.

The blond rolled dark grey eyes, took Helena from Lily, who disappeared into the bedroom, probably, hopefully, to get dressed, and then opened the door in his pyjama pants and nothing else. "What?" he asked.

Chris blinked in surprise at him. "You have the baby."

"Did you come all the way over here at six thirty in the morning to tell me that?" the blond asked coolly, even as he stepped back to let Chris in. The dark haired man scowled.

"No," he growled. "I came to punch you in the face." He scowled and Scorpius merely rolled his eyes. "Which I can't do if you're going to insist on holding Squish."

"Was that meant to make me want to put her down?" Scorpius drawled.

Chris glared. "I hate you."

Scorpius grinned. "We're even now, Pashkov."

Chris cursed under his breath. "I fucking knew it! I knew you set me up you twat!"

The blond rolled his eyes. "I didn't do a thing," he relied. "Not my fault you're a man whore. Or that your girlfriend was opposed to the notion of sharing you."

Chris kept on glaring. "I haven't seen Katia in months, and all of a sudden she's showing up at my flat, thinking she's going to get back into bed with me? The fuck, mate?"

Scorpius lifted his brows. "And you think I had a hand in that?" Chris glowered and Scorpius chuckled, even as he shifted Helena to his other side, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "C'mon, Chris. You might deserve it, and more, but I'm not the petty one. That's you." He stopped smiling. "You know, like that time you got me drunk enough to sign those fucking papers and filed them without telling me? And then left me to sulk in misery for months because you ruined my relationship with Lily by doing so?"

Chris rolled blue eyes. "I didn't leave you to sulk in misery," he said. "Besides, from the looks of it, it worked out, didn't it?" he snarled. "You got your baby."

"And you got dumped," Scorpius said smugly, even as Lily came back out, dressed properly, even if she was wearing his pyjama pants and one of his t-shirts.

"You should go shower, or you're going to be late for work," Lily said to Scorpius, leaning up to kiss the side of his mouth, even as she reached for the baby.

"Are you shitting me?" Chris said slowly. Lily fixed him with a dark look.

"No," Scorpius said lightly. "Despite your attempts at meddling, things actually worked out for me."

"More like despite you being the world's biggest arse, Pashkov," Lily grumbled, then smirked. "Have you gotten your shit from Rose's place yet? She'll throw it off her balcony if you leave it there."

Chris glared, then took a step forward. "You did this," he said darkly. Lily lifted innocent brows.

"What? Helped my cousin realize you're all wrong for her?" Lily asked sweetly, and Scorpius looked at her in surprise. "No, you did that all on your own, Pashkov."

"Go away, Chris," Scorpius said. "You're ruining my good mood," he added when the dark haired European man growled angrily.

"No," Chris said. "You're both daft, but did you really think we all didn't know you two stubborn idiots wouldn't get together in the end? That if you could both stop being pussy about it, despite everything, you'd still wind up together?" Scorpius and Lily broth frowned. "I might be the asshole who filed the papers, but let's face it, it would've only been a matter of time before you brought it up, Scor." Scorpius frowned. "And would you have grown the balls if I hadn't pushed you to tell the girl you're a miserable sod without her? Bleeding fuck, it took you how many years to tell her you fancied her?" The blond frowned more. "And you, Little Potter, would you have given the fucker an inch if you didn't know he'd fight for you and Squish?" Lily glared. "No. So yeah, I'm the asshole, and I might deserve to be punished, but the only reason you two have finally sorted your shit out is because Rosie and I made you realize how awful you are apart." He looked at Lily. "Your date go well last night?" he pushed, sounding furious. "I bet not, or you'd have gone home with the fucker, not gone home to the man you really wanted to be out with."

The redhead gasped, shocked her cousin and Chris had been so conniving, and a little touched they'd gone to such drastic lengths. "I think in time, Scorpius and I-" she began, feeling defensive.

Chris snorted. "Maybe Scor, but not you, Little Potter. You're the stubbornest person I know. You'd never have realized your life sucks without Malfoy if I hadn't been a douchebag and Rose hadn't been such a bitch in the aftermath."

Scorpius almost laughed. Because that sounded _exactly_ like Chris. Using his awful and least admirable personality traits for good, to make him and Lily get over themselves, even after pushing Scorpius for months, needling him, and giving him any reason and every opportunity to just get over Lily. Typical Chris, stirring up drama, but pushing Scorpius to act, knowing he'd have waited forever to ever address a future with Lily had they been allowed to simply let things progress naturally. Now he had his future secured, because he'd been pushed into making the decision to declare his love for Lily, lay his heart on the line, and let her catch him in his leap of faith. And apparently Rose had done the same for Lily. "I hate you," he said fondly. Chris scowled.

"I hate you more. Now what the fuck did you two do that Rosie thinks I've been fucking some dumb blonde bimbo instead of her?"

Lily scowled. "She saw you. When you were walking the bimbo out of your flat to her car. After you lied and said you'd be working late and then another woman was snogging you stupid. You did that shit all on your own."

Chris looked shocked. "So wait, you two-?"

Scorpius shook his head. "We're not all scheming, plotting bastards who manipulate people, even with the best of intentions."

"Well fuck," Chris sighed.

Lily took pity on him. She may have suffered a lot of heartache because of his little scheme, and she definitely still wanted to punch the bastard in the face, but the redhead had to admit, she was glad things had worked out the way they had. That she and Scorpius had found their way back together, that the love of her life, the father of her bean, loved her as much in return and wanted to build a family with her and Helena. Forever. "Have you told her the truth?" Lily said. "That the blonde bimbo means nothing?"

"Of course I have!" Chris said.

Lily hummed thoughtfully. "And have you told her you're too in love with her to want anyone else?" she pushed. Chris balked.

"I'm not-"

"Shut up, yes you are, and you're an idiot if you can see that Scorpius and I love each other and can't see you and Rose are in the same bloody boat." Chris scowled. "Go to Rose's pretending you're going to pick up your stuff, bring her breakfast from Archie's diner, and just tell her you love her." Chris looked like he'd rather think up some stupid scheme to get Rose back instead. "And stop plotting. Rose is a sucker for honesty, Chris, and you need to give it to her, or you'll wish you'd never met her. Trust me."

Chris shook his head, then sighed. "And if it doesn't work?"

Lily shrugged. "Then you deserve it, for being a jerk, and making my life awful for the last six months or so. But it will." The blue eyed man sighed again, but turned back to the door. "And when it does," Lily added, "you'll owe me big time, Pashkov."

After he'd gone, Scorpius looked at his fiancee, the love for her softening his eyes. "What a tosser," he mumbled.

"And Rose," Lily agreed. "I wondered why she was trying so hard to make me forget you. Normally she's all wine and ice cream and sympathy when I'm heartbroken." The redhead sighed, but even if the knowledge her cousin and Chris had been plotting to get them back together through the worst possible means rankled, she felt pleased it had worked.

"Were you heartbroken?" Scorpius murmured, and Lily sent him a dark look, as if he dared her to describe the pain she'd endured.

"Of course. I thought you'd been lying to me the whole time about loving me, just to get the chance to take Helena." She tilted her head as she looked up at him. "Were you really miserable without us?" She knew she and Helena probably drove him mad at times, when they'd been a little family, before, and had feared he might regret the decision to be with her someday still.

"Unbearably," Scorpius said roughly. "I may have even cried." Lily couldn't fathom it. "Which is why I'm never going to let you think you don't mean the world to me."

"Same," the redhead said, smiling, heart full of love and contentment. Helena shouted and then made an unpleasant noise from her bottom. Scorpius chuckled, even as the smell of poo wafted between them, and kissed her.

Lily showed up early for Sunday dinner at her parents' house a few days later, grunting at the weight of Helena in her car seat, hefted in the crook of her elbow, as she made her way up to the front door. She didn't bother knocking, and threw the front door to her parents' home wide as she passed inside. The door closed behind her and he could all but feel the nervous energy radiating off Scorpius behind her. "You should let me carry the baby," he said for the fourth time.

"No, I've got her," Lily said. "And seriously, relax," she instructed, taking the baby from her carseat, hefting her up on a hip and heading toward the kitchen. Her brand new fiance followed. "Hi, Mum, hi, Dad," Lily said easily as she breezed into the kitchen, and her mother turned, beaming, from the stove as her father glanced up with a ready grin from his paper. And then they both stopped smiling.

"Malfoy," Harry Potter said darkly, but with a the barest modicum of respect.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Scorpius said, a little stiffly as he entered the room in Lily and Helena's wake.

"Don't you Mrs. Potter me!" Ginny said sternly, and marched right up to him, poking him in the chest with a finger. "How dare you show your face here, after the stunt you pulled!?" she said aggressively, and Scorpius cast Lily a pleading look.

"Oops," the redhead said, sounding anything but sorry to Scorpius. "I may have mentioned that you, being abominable, dragged me to court and tried to take our daughter from me."

Instantly, both Ginny and Harry looked at Lily. "Didn't he?" Harry said, sounding uncertain now.

"Not quite," Lily said equably.

"Lily Luna, what on Earth is going on?" Ginny demanded of her daughter, looking sternly at her now. The redhead smiled, and reached with her baby free hand for Scorpius's, lacing their fingers.

"I already told you how Scorpius and I reached a custody agreement," she said, even as her mother glared harder. "Well, now we've reached a new agreement," she said brightly, and lifted their clasped hands, her left, and his right. Her brand new engagement ring sparkled brilliantly, and Lily laughed with overflowing joy as her mother's jaw dropped.

"You didn't ask me," Harry said, standing up from the table and coming around to face Scorpius. The blond swallowed thickly.

"It wasn't your decision," he replied evenly, trying to sound as polite as possible still.

Harry Potter smiled grudgingly. "Congratulations, son," he said lightly, and Scorpius felt a rush of something like mingled pride and acceptance with those two words, and nodded, certainly unable to speak past the sudden lump in his throat.

Ginny had burst into tears, and was hugging Lily, and then pulled Scorpius down to kiss both his cheeks. "Oh, I always knew you were a good boy. And now you can take care of my little Lily, and-"

"I can still take care of myself," Lily interjected.

"And I know you two are going to be so unbearably happy together." She looked at her husband, who folded her into an embrace. "Haven't I always said that, Harry?"

"Of course, Gin."

Lily looked round at her fiance as he squeezed her hand gently. "That was mean," he said in a low voice.

The redhead couldn't help but grin impossibly wider. She was positive her face was permanently stuck that way lately. "Not even. Wait until the next time you see my Nan," she teased, and Scorpius blanched as she leaned in to kiss him, the baby kicking her legs, wriggling and trying to get to her Nana.

"What the bleeding fuck is going on?" came James Potter's voice in the next second.

That question was followed by Priscilla saying sternly, "James, language!" even as Liam chanted, loudly, "Daddy swore, Daddy swore, Daddy said bad words, because he  _swore_!"

"James," Ginny said instantly, frowning.

"Daddy bad," Viola said solemnly.

The dark haired, dark eyed Potter glared at Scorpius, having heard the worst from Lily, and then from Albus's own mouth that the blond could've ended things sooner, and not taken Lily to court at all. "You have an awful lot of nerve."

"He does," Lily said firmly. "Which is why when he asked me to marry him, I said yes."

"Albus is going to flip his sh-lid, you know that, right?" James said darkly to his sister. She smirked, and even Scorpius's mouth twitched.

"Albus already knows," she said lightly. Apparently he'd been in on Rose and Chris's little scheme, too, even if part of him had still disliked the notion of his sister and best mate hooking up long term. "Oh, and he told me to tell you, Mum, he can't make it this week. He's attending a wedding with a young lady and her sister or something."

Ginny sighed. "Well," she said, because James still looked a little flabbergasted, "let's eat," she said, trying to get a handle back on the situation in her kitchen.

"Congrats," Priscilla said after examining Lily's ring and sighing at least a half dozen times once they were seated and dinner had been served. "I have a feeling you two are going to make it, y'know. Somehow, I think I was always kind of rooting for you to figure it out, that you're meant to be." Lily rolled her eyes a little, because if that wasn't some romantic crap, she had no clue what was.

Ginny clasped her daughter in law's hand. "That's exactly what I was saying," she gushed. Lily glanced across Helena's head at Scorpius, who grimaced slightly, then met her hazel eyes, and his face softened into a smile.

By the time they got back in Scorpius's very nice silver BMW, it was pushing eight o'clock, Helena was fast asleep, and Lily couldn't help but wonder just why Scorpius's phone hadn't rung, or buzzed, or been glanced at, even once, the entire evening. And, now that she thought about it, she couldn't recall the last time, in the last few days she'd spent almost exclusively with him, wanting to make up for some serious lost time, her fiance had even been on his once much used cell phone.

"Is your phone on silent?" she asked after he'd backed out of her parents' driveway and looked at him critically. His brow furrowed a little.

"No. Why?" she asked, glancing at her as he paused for a stop sign at the end of the road. "Have you been secretly sending me dirty text messages?" he teased, smirking a little, eyes tracing her cleavage in her little tee.

Lily's eyes rolled, but she grinned.  _Not yet_. "No," she replied. "It's just, your phone has been awfully quiet lately," she commented. She knew, as a political aide and networking pro, Scorpius's job required him to dedicate a certain amount of time to his mobile device, but she couldn't help but wonder if he'd cut back, and if it had been for her.

"It doesn't get much action these days," the blond said lightly. Lily's brows pulled together, and when they stopped at a red light, she frowned.

"I don't get it."

Scorpius grinned. "I don't much need it, for work at least, anymore." The redhead all but scowled now, her expression demanding he explain. "I'm not a political aide anymore," he said. "I took a title cut for a pay rise, and evenings and weekends off, after Helena was born," he said.

"Why?" Lily breathed.

Scorpius smiled softly at her, then pulled away from the light. "Because I love her, and seeing her grow up is more important than maybe, someday, being the politician." The redhead all but choked on her heart.

"You didn't have to-"

"I wanted to," Scorpius said, and smiled wider, his lips turning up crookedly, and ran a hand up her thigh. "Amongst other things."

Lily wet her lips as his digits moved up dangerously high on the inside of her thigh, and then she clenched them together, trapping his hand. "Stop," she breathed, but Scorpius merely grinned wickedly. "Seriously. You told me you were going to get a nanny!" she said, feeling disgruntled.

The blond shrugged. "I lied. I'm way too selfish to let some stranger raise my baby for me. Even if it's hard as hell sometimes, especially the times when I didn't have you there to tell me what to do."

Lily smirked. "Yeah, you were probably screwed without me," she teased, then sobered. "I was pretty screwed without you," she admitted.

Scorpius paused for another red light and took the opportunity to kiss her. "And now you're just screwed by me," he sighed, pulling back.

Lily laughed, and as they drove off into the sunset, she felt a sense of calm and completion settle over her. She was in Scorpius's very nice car, with him beside her, and their little bean asleep in the back seat, and they were going home, to either his place or hers, where he would make love to her until she fell asleep. Life was perfect. "I love you, Scorpius," she murmured, and Scorpius reached for her hand, twining their fingers, and Lily put her other hand over his, engagement ring sparkling.

"I love you, Lily."

XXX


	25. Epilogue

**The Baby Dilemma**

written by: albe-chan

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Epilogue - Five Years Later

Lily felt herself waking slowly, a dream clinging to her consciousness, making her feel warm, and loved, and a little horny. She couldn't recall the details as she opened her eyes, but she definitely remembered it had been starring a handsome, tall, grey eyed blond, who'd said the most decadent things against her ear in a rough, sexy voice. "Scorpius?" she asked through a yawn, sitting up and glancing at the bed beside her.

The sheets, when she touched them, were still warm, and rumpled as though they'd been slept in, and she smiled, because that might also have been from the night before, when her husband had made love to her and she'd reached the highest heights of pleasure with his talented mouth and hands and cock. The only question was, where was he  _now_? Lily slid out of the massive raised bed and walked into the adjoining ensuite, using the loo and pulling her long, snarled mane of dark red hair up into a messy bun atop her head after washing her hands.

She went back to her bedroom to get dressed, pulling on a stretchy black tee and some pyjama pants she was fairly certain had definitely belonged to her husband originally, and then headed toward the smell of coffee in the kitchen, frowning when she heard her husband talking sternly to their daughter. "Do you understand me?" Scorpius said firmly as Lily walked into the large, spacious, and very well-appointed room. Her husband stood at the stove, facing away from the two pans he had on the go, a third warming on the back burner.

"Yes, Dad," the little blonde girl who sat at the breakfast bar replied, a tiny bit sullenly. "Mummy!" she said, looking over at Lily's arrival. "Hi, Mummy! Good morning! Daddy's making breakfast, but he's not doing it right," she informed her mother promptly, and Lily couldn't help but smile, even as the little girl made to scramble down out of her seat.

"Oh no," Lily said, casting her husband a teasingly disappointed look as dark grey eyes rolled. "What's Daddy done wrong?" she asked, even as her daughter scrambled back up into her seat as Lily approached and then hugged and kissed her good morning.

"He cooked the bacon first, not the eggs, and forgot we were supposed to have pancakes," her daughter said readily.

"I didn't forget," Scorpius defended himself. "I told her she had to wait until I found the recipe to make them. I didn't see the need to hold off on the rest of breakfast. And just because it's different, doesn't mean it's wrong, Elyse."

"Dad does things his way, not Mum's way," added Lily's older daughter, Helena. The redhead moved to hug and kiss her as well.

"Of course he does," Lily said, even as their younger daughter opened her mouth to retort back. "And Daddy's right," she added as the three year old pouted. "Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's not right. It's just different."

"Then how come when I say I brushed my teeth, you always say I didn't do it right?" she demanded, scowling, and Lily smiled, ruffling her blonde hair affectionately.

"Because you didn't use toothpaste the last time you said that," Lily replied. "Now eat your breakfast." She moved around the breakfast bar to the stove, hugging her husband of almost five years, giggling as he kissed her collar bone, then her neck, then jaw, and at last, her mouth. She felt him set down the spatula he'd been holding to pull her closer, both hands moving around the distinct bump in her midsection. "Good morning," she purred as he pulled back at last.

"Good morning," Scorpius replied huskily, dark grey eyes tracing the curves of her breasts under her tee. "How's my boy?" he asked, smiling and rubbing her more than slightly distended belly.

"Growing," Lily replied, even as her hazel eyes rolled. They had yet to find out the sex of their third child, and while Lily was indeed hoping for a son this time, she wasn't getting her hopes too high. The last two times she'd been with child, the girls had refused to cooperate during gender reveal ultrasounds, and even though Lily was already almost eighteen weeks along, she had a feeling this time would be the same thing when the time came.

"Is the baby moving?" five year old Helena asked with interest, her dark grey eyes, the same as her father's, lighting up. "Can I feel it?"

"Me too!" Elyse demanded, blue eyes wide as she slipped off her stool once more.

Lily chuckled even as Scorpius sighed, moving his hands away. "No, girls, he's asleep right now," she said, even as Elyse ran up and put both hands on Lily's belly expectantly. Helena, still in her seat, pouted at her plate.

"No fair," she grumbled. Lily's eldest child had been ecstatic about the impending baby since finding out, and had been waiting to properly feel her brother or sister move within Lily's belly for weeks now. "I don't even remember when Elyse was inside you, and now this baby  _never_  moves!"

"I know, sunshine," Scorpius replied. "But just you wait. Eventually you'll be able to  _see_  your brother moving inside Mummy's belly."

"Wake up!" Elyse said loudly at Lily's bump, but nothing happened. "He's sleeping," she sighed. "He sleeps a lot."

"Finish your breakfast, honey," Lily said, sending Elyse back to her seat. "And I promise you, the second he moves, I'll tell you so you can feel it, Helena." Her daughter smiled at that.

"Okay, Mummy," she said.

Lily moved to get a plate of food for herself, but then Scorpius was kissing her again, hands roving around her belly to grasp her arse firmly this time, tongue teasing the seam of her lips. "What was that for?" she asked, grinning foolishly, even as Scorpius picked up his spatula again, flipping pancakes with the precision that came with years of practice.

"I love you," he said simply, and smiled at her.

"Daddy loves Mummy! Daddy loves Mummy!" Elyse sang from her seat, and Helena rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Duh, how else d'you think they made the baby? That's what Nan told me, that babies are made when two people really love each other," she said with infinite older sister wisdom.

Lily laughed and Scorpius chuckled into his coffee, even as Elyse glared at her sister. The redhead sighed happily, happier than she'd ever reckoned she could be, and pulled her husband down to kiss him again.

"I love you too," she murmured.

"Duh," he teased. "I have two and a half children as the proof, darling." Lily took a drink of his coffee and rolled her eyes again.

"Keep it up, Malfoy, and you'll be sleeping on the couch," she tossed back.

"We both know you wouldn't do that, Mrs. Malfoy," he replied, then added in a husky whisper against her ear, "That's how I know it's a boy this time. You're practically insatiable, darling, instead of pretending you have self control."

The redhead blushed, pushing him away playfully. "You love it," she said, taking his coffee cup over to the breakfast bar. Scorpius chuckled.

"All of it," he admitted, then clicked off the gas for the cooker. "Now, who's ready for pancakes?" he asked, lifting the golden brown, blueberry filled breakfast from the pan to a plate.

Lily watched Scorpius serving up pancakes to her hungry daughters, who fought over who would get the largest of them, and smiled, rubbing her belly contentedly. What had started as a one night stand and turned into the biggest baby dilemma she'd ever imagined, had, somehow, turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Who'd have thought? Then she felt her baby kick within, and her smile only grew, because she was willing to bet, in about five months, she'd be an impossibly happier version of the happiest woman on the face of the planet. All because she'd solved her baby dilemma.

XXX

The End

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**  Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed my story, and I can only hope you all loved the extra dosing of fluff that is this epilogue. Every single Favourite, Alert, and Review, makes my day, so love and hugs for those, too. :) Until next time, y'all! Cheers.


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